Congressman introduces CARTEL Act to enhance border security measures
Rep. Morgan Luttrell introduced the CARTEL Act to enhance transparency regarding the activities of Mexican drug cartels at the U.S. border, following an executive order by Trump.
A Navy SEAL veteran-turned-congressman is fighting to pull back the curtain on the growing threat of Mexican drug cartels and other organized crime groups, introducing legislation Thursday aimed at providing Americans with transparency about the dangers they pose.
"Thanks to the Biden administration's open-border policies, dangerous cartels have been running our borders and profiting from human and drug trafficking," Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.
Luttrell introduced the CARTEL Act, which mandates that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report whether individuals listed in the Terrorist Screening Database were released into the United States.
The legislation also mandates the transparent tracking of individuals associated with cartels who have attempted illegal crossings.
The bill comes just a few weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that moved the U.S. toward designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The order says the organizations "threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere."
"The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs," the order adds.
The order highlighted both Mexican cartels and other gangs throughout Latin America, such as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and El Salvador's MS-13, which have raised alarms in recent years after reports of gang activity spreading to the United States.
Luttrell, who served seven years as a Navy SEAL, believes the legislation will offer Americans transparency on just who is trying to enter the country, while also mandating that CBP provide a comprehensive report to Congress showing which terrorist organizations and cartels are working to enter the country.
The CARTEL Act is co-sponsored by representatives Bryan Steil, R-Wis., Daniel Webster, R-Fla., Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Randy Weber, R-Texas.
"Americans deserve to know exactly who is trying to enter our country," Luttrell said. "The CARTEL Act will provide critical transparency and accountability in the fight to secure our borders and protect our communities."
