Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy has introduced an explosive new bill that would designate drug cartels as Foreign Terror Organizations under federal law.
The legislation, which is titled the “Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act,” would classify the Reynosa/Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel and the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas as terrorist organizations.
A whopping 30 House Republicans have co-sponsored the bill.
“To anyone remotely familiar with the brutal tactics and extensive operations that cartels use on both sides of our southern border every single day, there is absolutely no question that they should be described, designated, and treated as terrorists. These are people who hang, behead and burn people alive to threaten and control government officials and Mexico and they are starting to bring those dangerous tactics here to the United States,” Roy said.
“These criminal organizations endanger American citizens, our Mexican neighbors, and the immigrants who seek to come here. They treat human beings like cattle, trafficking them — as well as deadly narcotics — across our border and through our communities every single day for profit. To make matters worse, they’re growing even more powerful, wealthy, and brazen as a result of this administration’s self-inflicted border crisis. We need to get serious, treat cartels like the terrorists they are, and give law enforcement even more tools to bring them down,” he added.
In his statement, Roy details his bill and what it would do:
The “Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act,” would formally designate the Reynosa/Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel and the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under federal law. It would also require the State Department to issue a report to congress on additional cartels that meet the criteria for FTO designation and require the department to designate them as such within 30 days of the report.
The Reynosa/Los Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel — which has operational control of Reynosa, Mexico, and the surrounding areas just across the border from McAllen, Texas — is known for their profit model that relies on smuggling and trafficking migrants. The Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, based just over the border from Laredo, Texas is also known for exploiting the unsecured border of the United States and beheading, torturing, and killing those that cross them.
FTO designations provide for additional “tools” for law enforcement and national security authorities to take action, including by providing additional investigative and intelligence resources and sanction capabilities.
For example, FTO designation would:
- Make it unlawful for any person who knowingly provides “material support or resources” to the cartel to enter the United States.
- Prevent any member of a designated cartel from legally entering the United States.
- Allow the Secretary of the Treasury to block all assets possessed or controlled by the cartels.
Roy’s bill comes amid the surge of illegal border crossings since Joe Biden took office a few months ago.
An explosive report last week revealed children detained in an overcrowded government-run tent facility at the US-Mexico border say they haven’t been able to shower for days or contact their parents.
Some children get to shower about once a week and sometimes soap runs out, with only shampoo available, she said. One child told Welch she hadn’t showered in six days.
In fact, Democrats in New York are working on creating a fund that would give some illegal aliens and ex-convicts more than $20,000 apiece in direct payments related to the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office is reportedly in talks with state lawmakers to create something called the Excluded Workers Fund, which would offer direct payments to “undocumented immigrants and formerly incarcerated individuals” who missed out on work opportunities amid the pandemic.
“Right now discussions are around eligibility and access,” Democratic state Sen. Jessica Ramos told the outlet.
Just to be even clearer, Politico directly reports: “New York’s proposal would provide some recipients with more than $27,000.”
Some illegal immigrants and ex-convicts could see an immediate payment of $20,700, with an additional $6,600 coming later.