Bipartisan bill promises more resources at ports to fight fentanyl smuggling, speed up wait times
H.R. 1924, the Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade (BEST) Facilitation Act, would make sure image technicians and supervisors are hired at the ports to more closely examine cargo scans, a policy that proponents believe would speed up wait times and make it easier to catch drugs like fentanyl from heading into the U.S.
The goal is to create a specific role for scanning to make it easier on already strained agents.
"The majority of the fentanyl that is intercepted is at the ports of entry because of the technology that we have," Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., who drafted H.R. 1924, told Fox News Digital. "Also because of the way that fentanyl looks and the way it gets transported, which are small pills and they can fit pretty much anywhere."
"Cars are taken apart and rebuilt around the fentanyl there. So when you've got these kinds of training positions, that enhances the security at the port of entry," the Arizona Republican continued, adding that the legislation comes from an idea floated by authorities on the ground.
Much of the known drug trafficking done across the border is through the ports. The majority of convictions in recent years for smuggling fentanyl specifically have been American citizens, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
"Through this kind of scanning process where goods are flowing back and forth, we can prevent the crossing of illegal drugs and also speed up the process of the legal goods coming in," Ciscomani said. He also noted that the legislation could make certain ports optimal for increasing trade and reduce wait times, which could be hours.
The influx of migrants during the Biden administration put a strain on resources at the ports, which even led to longer lines as authorities were also trying to handle the wave of people crossing into the nation illegally. Despite the obstacles, CBP still seized over 21,000 pounds of fentanyl and over 158,000 pounds of meth along the southern border in fiscal year 2024 alone, according to the agency's data.
"When I think about Eastern North Carolina and so many families being devastated in particular by the fentanyl crisis, we have to do something. We have to take urgent steps. We have to, you know, put aside the partisan politics because this is hitting home literally. So when I went to the border, taking three trips to the border, and in particular the Tucson sector," Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., who's co-sponsoring the legislation, told Fox News Digital.
"They're gonna be able to do more inspections, and I believe that this is a pathway of actually saving lives," Davis added.
H.R. 1294 has been referred to the House Homeland Security Committee, and it comes at a time when the Trump administration is undertaking a full-scale crackdown on the border crisis, which has led to praise from Republicans and backlash from Democrats. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that only 200 people were encountered by CBP trying to illegally cross on Saturday, the lowest daily figure in 15 years.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are ongoing across the country, with some even being held at Guantanamo Bay, and troops were sent down to the southern border shortly after President Donald Trump took office last month.
Meanwhile, the overall conversation remains heated on Capitol Hill. Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum slammed another bill by Ciscomani, the Agent Raul Gonzalez Safety Act, as akin to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 for ramping up penalties for those "intentionally fleeing" law enforcement near the border. Yet, the bill ended up passing with some bipartisan support.
There have been some bright spots of compromise despite broader disputes on the issue across the nation as well. Arizona Republican lawmakers and Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes are supporting a state bill that would give permission to local authorities to shoot down drones suspected of being operated by the cartels, which would likely hinder one tool the organizations use to smuggle illicit drugs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom fights fire with fire against Republicans and Trump
As Texas Republicans seek to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, Gov. Gavin Newsom has a power play of his own: redraw California's congressional districts to favor Democrats. With a new special election campaign, Newsom is proposing to temporarily scrap California's independently-drawn congressional lines in favor of districts that support Democrats. Could this political gerrymandering be the thing that saves democracy from Trump's increasingly authoritarian impulses? It's a boundary-pushing gamble that will undoubtedly supercharge Newsom's political star in the short-term, my colleague Julia Wick writes. But a ballot-box flop would be brutal for both the California governor and the Democrats. The 'Election Rigging Response Act,' as Newsom has named his ballot measure, would temporarily scrap the congressional districts enacted by the state's voter-approved independent redistricting commission. Under the proposal, Democrats could pick up five seats currently held by Republicans while bolstering vulnerable Democratic incumbent Reps. Adam Gray, Josh Harder, George Whitesides, Derek Tran and Dave Min, which would save the party millions of dollars in costly reelection fights. But first the Democratic-led state Legislature must vote to place the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot and then it must be approved by voters. If passed, the initiative would have a 'trigger,' meaning the redrawn map would not take effect unless Texas or another GOP-led state moved forward with its own gerrymandering effort. For Democrats like Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who appeared alongside Newsom to kick off the special election campaign, there is 'some heartbreak' to temporarily shelving their commitment to independent redistricting. California voters have twice rallied for independent redistricting at the ballot box in the last two decades and many may struggle to abandon those beliefs. A POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll found that voters prefer keeping an independent panel in place to draw district lines by a nearly two-to-one margin, and that independent redistricting is broadly popular in the state. Still, Friedman told the Times she was hearing overwhelmingly positive reactions to the proposal from all kinds of Democratic groups on the ground. 'The response that I get is, 'Finally, we're fighting. We have a way to fight back that's tangible.'' Newsom isn't using political gerrymandering as his only method of combating Trump and the Republicans. His digital team has resorted to trolling Trump on X, mimicking the president's own social media vernacular. Think petty insults and hyperbole with a heavy reliance on the 'caps lock' key. 'DONALD IS FINISHED — HE IS NO LONGER 'HOT.' FIRST THE HANDS (SO TINY) AND NOW ME — GAVIN C. NEWSOM — HAVE TAKEN AWAY HIS 'STEP,' ' one of the posts read last week. Newsom's actions are notably different from how he spent the first months of the new administration. In an attempt to reshape the California-vs.-Trump narrative, the governor hosted MAGA leaders on his podcast and contradicted the Democratic orthodoxy on the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports. But after the president sent California National Guard troops into Los Angeles amid immigration sweeps and ensuing protests in June, Newsom's MAGA conciliation ended. Now he's making a big gamble with his new special election campaign, the kind of big play that could redefine how voters across the country see him. Read the full story here. Today's great photo is from Times intern Annie Goodykoontz at a vigil honoring a man who died while fleeing an immigration raid at a SoCal Home Depot. Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newslettersJim Rainey, staff writerDiamy Wang, homepage internIzzy Nunes, audience intern How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom's redistricting plan is a power grab. But the GOP objections are rubbish
SACRAMENTO — One accusation hurled at Gov. Gavin Newsom for his retaliatory redistricting move against President Trump and Texas Republicans is that he's overriding the will of California voters. Rubbish. The flawed argument goes like this: Californians — once upon a time — voted overwhelmingly to ban partisan gerrymandering and strip the task of drawing congressional seats from self-interested legislators. In a historic political reform, redistricting was turned over to an independent citizens' commission. Now, Newsom is trying to subvert the voters' edict. 'It is really a calculated power grab that dismantles the very safeguards voters put in place,' California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin said in a statement last week, echoing other party members. 'This is Gavin the Gaslighter overturning the will of the voters and telling you it's for your own good.' Again, baloney. Power grab? Sure. Overturning the voters' will? Hardly. Newsom is asking voters to express a new will–seeking permission to fight back against Trump's underhanded attempt to redraw congressional districts in Texas and other red states so Republicans can retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives after next year's midterm elections. First of all, that anti-gerrymandering vote creating the citizens' commission was 15 years ago. It was a wise decision and badly needed, and still a wonderful concept in the abstract. But that was then, this is now. Just because a ballot measure was passed one or two decades ago doesn't mean it has been cast in stone. Would Californians still vote to ban same-sex marriage or deny public schooling to undocumented children? Doubtful. Circumstances and views change. Second, that 2010 electorate no longer exists. Today's electorate is substantially different. And it shouldn't necessarily be tied to the past. Consider: PPIC researchers recently reported that 'partisanship now shapes the state's migration — with those moving out of the state more likely to be Republican and those moving in more likely to be Democrat. … This process makes California more Democratic than it would otherwise be.' So, Newsom and Democratic legislators are not thumbing their noses at the voters' will. They're asking today's voters to suspend the ban on gerrymandering and adopt a partisan redistricting plan at a Nov. 4 special election. The good government process of map drawing by the citizen's commission would return after the 2030 decennial census. The heavily Democratic Legislature will pass a state constitutional amendment containing Newsom's plan and put it on the ballot, probably this week. It would take effect only if Texas or other red states bow to Trump's demand to gerrymander their congressional districts to rig them for Republicans. Trump is seeking five more GOP seats from Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott is trying to oblige. Republicans already hold 25 of the 38 seats. Newsom's plan, released Friday, counters Texas' scheme with a blatant gerrymander of his own. It would gain five Democratic seats. Democrats already outnumber Republicans on the California House delegation 43 to 9. Neither the governor nor any Democrats are defending gerrymandering. They agree it's evil politics. They support redistricting by the citizens' commission and believe this high-road process should be required in every state. But that's not about to happen. And to stand by meekly without matching the red states' election rigging would amount to unilateral disarmament, they contend correctly. 'It's not good enough to just hold hands, have a candlelight vigil and talk about the way the world should be,' Newsom declared at a campaign kickoff last week. 'We have got to recognize the cards that have been dealt. And we have got to meet fire with fire.' But polling indicates it could be a tough sell to voters. A large majority believe the bipartisan citizens commission should draw congressional districts, not the politicians who they don't particularly trust. 'It'll be complicated to explain to voters why two wrongs make a right,' says Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, a GOP never-Trumper. Former GOP redistricting consultant Tony Quinn says: 'There is no way to 'educate' voters on district line drawing. And Californians vote 'no' on ballot measures they do not understand. … It's sort of like trying to explain the basketball playoffs to me.' But veteran Democratic strategist Garry South doesn't see a problem. 'The messaging here is clear: 'Screw Trump',' South says. 'If the object is to stick it to Trump, [voter] turnout won't be a problem.' Gerrymandering may not be the voters' will in California. But they may well jump at the chance to thwart Trump. The must-read: Newsom's decision to fight fire with fire could have profound political consequences The TK: Trial in National Guard lawsuit tests whether Trump will let courts limit authority The L.A. Times Special: Hundreds of Californians have been paid $10,000 to relocate to Oklahoma. Did they find paradise? Until next week,George Skelton —Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
What Time Is Trump's Meeting With Zelensky, European Leaders?
People walked past security fences across from the White House a day before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
