Monday, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) introduced H.R. 4209, The Illicit Border Tunnel Defense Act, a measure to secure the southern border by directing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop a plan to counteract illegal underground tunnels under the U.S.-Mexico border.

“In addition to the mass surge of illegal border crossings aboveground, there are over 230 underground cross-border tunnels that drug cartels and traffickers are using to smuggle copious amounts of narcotics, weapons, and cash back and forth across our southern border,” said Congressman August Pfluger. “U.S. Border Patrol is aware of an increasing number of these tunnels but lacks the appropriate resources to close and counteract them. This legislation ensures that Border Patrol agents will have the plan and tools they need to seal these tunnels and defend American communities.”

“I spent time at the southern border serving as an organized crime prosecutor and can tell you cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) will stop at nothing to cash in on their drug trade,” said Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. “They are utilizing complex, advanced tunnel systems to smuggle mass-amounts of illicit drugs into the country, which eventually end up in our communities. I applaud Congressman Pfluger for leading this effort to address and stop these robust attempts to circumvent our border security system.”