The mess on the border, particularly the southern border, is going to take a while to clean up. While it’s becoming apparent that we have the right people on the job, starting with the new border czar Tom “The Hammer” Homan, there will need to be some legislative efforts as well.
To that end, Congressman Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) is introducing the Cartel and Radical Terrorist Enforcement Log (CARTEL) Act. The Congressman’s press release regarding the act reads in part:
The Cartel and Radical Terrorist Enforcement Log (CARTEL) Act:
- Requires Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to report on:
- Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) hits and whether the individuals were released into the interior of the United States, in addition to reports on getaway numbers.
- The total number of individuals affiliated with cartel organizations who have repeatedly attempted to cross unlawfully into the United States.
- The total number of individuals affiliated with cartel organizations who have been apprehended, including information relating to whether such individuals were released into the United States or removed.
- Requires a report to Congress detailing which terrorist and cartel organizations are attempting to exploit the northern, southern, and maritime borders to get their members in.
A Fox News piece has more detail:
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., Randy Weber, R-Texas, Jack Bergman, R-Mich., Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Brian Babin, R-Texas, and Mike Collins, R-Ga.
Amazingly, no Democrats seem interested enough in increasing transparency on who may be entering the country illegally to get on board with this proposal, and it’s for sure and for certain that bad people are getting in. The primary difference in the last few weeks is that they are getting kicked out again.
See Related: Sinaloa Cartel Members Busted for Train Robbery – on US Soil
Rogues’ Gallery: Let’s Take a Look at Some of the People ICE Is Arresting
President Trump has, in an executive order on his first day in office, designated the cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. That increases the leverage Congress and the executive branch have in dealing with these people.
There is a question, though, that this section of the proposed act prompts:
- Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) hits and whether the individuals were released into the interior of the United States, in addition to reports on getaway numbers.
If we are identifying these people as being on the Terrorist Screening Database, why would any of them be released into the interior of the United States? Yes, the Biden administration did this with wild abandon, but things have changed. Not one person on the Terrorist Screening Database should be released, under any circumstances. If there is some doubt about someone’s identity, then they should be detained until things are sorted out. If they are legitimately on the database, they should either be arrested for trial if they are accused of a crime in the U.S. – or they should be immediately and without appeal repatriated to the country in which they hold citizenship.
The whole point of regaining control of the border is to keep people like this out. The last four years have done damage enough; there are millions in the country now, millions of illegal aliens that we do not know where they are, what they are doing, and what they might be planning. That has to stop. It is stopping, but it can’t stop fast enough – and the ones that are already here need to be removed.
