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Title II — Cracking down on criminal gangs, cartels, and complicit officials

S. 3540 · 115th Congress · Oct 2, 2018 · Lineage

II Cracking down on criminal gangs, cartels, and complicit officials

A Strengthening co­op­er­a­tion among law enforcement agencies To target smugglers and traffickers

Sec. 211 Enhanced international cooperation to combat human smuggling and trafficking

The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall expand partnership efforts with law enforcement entities in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico seeking to combat human smuggling and trafficking in those countries, including—
(1)
the creation or expansion of transnational criminal investigative units to identify, disrupt, and prosecute human smuggling and trafficking operations;
(2)
participation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Justice in the Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiative with their Mexican law enforcement counterparts; and
(3)
advanced training programs for investigators and prosecutors from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

Sec. 212 Enhanced investigation and prosecution of human smuggling and trafficking

(a)
In general— The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall expand collaborative programs aimed at investigating and prosecuting human smugglers and traffickers targeting Central American children and families and operating at the southwestern border of the United States, including the continuation and expansion of anti-trafficking coordination teams.
(b)
Homeland Security Investigations— The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shall increase the resources available to Homeland Security Investigations to facilitate the expansion of its smuggling and trafficking investigations.
(c)
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out subsections (a) and (b).

Sec. 213 Information campaign on dangers of irregular migration

(a)
In general— The Secretary of State, in consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall design and implement public information campaigns in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—
(1)
to disseminate information about the dangers of travel across Mexico to the United States; and
(2)
to combat misinformation about United States immigration law or policy; and
(3)
to provide accurate information about the right to seek asylum.
(b)
Elements— The information campaigns implemented pursuant to subsection (a) shall, to the greatest extent possible—
(1)
be targeted at populations and localities with high migration rates;
(2)
be in local languages;
(3)
employ a variety of communications media; and
(4)
be developed in consultation with program officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and other government, nonprofit, or academic entities in close contact with migrant populations from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including repatriated migrants.

B Strengthening the ability of the United States Government To crack down on smugglers, traffickers, and drug cartels

Sec. 221 Enhanced penalties for organized smuggling schemes

(a)
In general— Section 274(a)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(B)) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively;
(2)
by inserting after clause (ii) the following:

“(iii) in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)(i) during and in relation to which the person, while acting for profit or other financial gain, knowingly directs or participates in an effort or scheme to assist or cause 10 or more persons (other than a parent, spouse, sibling, or child of the offender) to enter or to attempt to enter the United States at the same time at a place other than a designated port of entry or place other than designated by the Secretary, be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both;”

(3)
in clause (iv), as redesignated, by inserting “commits or attempts to commit sexual assault of,” after “section 1365 of title 18, United States Code) to,”.
(b)
Bulk cash smuggling— Section 5332(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in the paragraph heading, by striking “Term of imprisonment” and inserting “In general”; and
(2)
by inserting “, fined under title 18, or both” after “5 years”.

Sec. 222 Expanding financial sanctions on narcotics trafficking and money laundering

(a)
Findings— Congress finds the following:
(1)
In July 2011, President Obama released “Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime”, which articulates a multidimensional response to combat transnational organized crime, including drug trafficking networks, armed criminal gangs, and money laundering.
(2)
The Strategy calls for expanded efforts to dismantle illicit financial networks, including through maximizing the use of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.).
(b)
Financial sanctions expansion—
(1)
In general— The Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of Central Intelligence shall expand investigations, intelligence collection, and analysis pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act to increase the identification and application of sanctions against—
(A)
significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their organizations and networks; and
(B)
foreign persons who provide material, financial, or technological support to such traffickers, organizations, and networks.
(2)
Targets— The activities described in paragraph (1) shall specifically target foreign narcotics traffickers, their organizations and networks, and the foreign persons who provide material, financial, or technological support to such traffickers, organizations, and networks that are present and operating in Central America.
(c)
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out subsection (b).

Sec. 223 Support for FBI transnational anti-gang task forces for countering criminal gangs

(a)
Findings— Congress finds that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Transnational Anti-Gang Task Forces established in 2007 in El Salvador, through cooperation between the FBI and the Department of State, to combat criminal gangs, including the MS–13 and 18th Street gangs, should be expanded.
(b)
Task force expansion— The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall expand the efforts of the Transnational Anti-Gang Task Forces in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including by—
(1)
expanding transnational criminal investigations focused on criminal gangs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, such as MS–13 and 18th Street;
(2)
expanding training and partnership efforts with Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran law enforcement entities in order to disrupt and dismantle criminal gangs, both internationally and in their respective countries;
(3)
establishing or expanding special vetted investigative units; and
(4)
collecting and disseminating intelligence to support related United States-based investigations.
(c)
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated, to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, such sums as may be necessary to carry out subsection (b).

Sec. 224 Sense of Congress regarding the expansion of targeted sanctions related to corruption and human rights abuses

It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
the President should intensify targeting of and impose sanctions regularly on a range of foreign persons from or in Central America determined to be responsible for human rights abuses, corruption-related misconduct, and other misconduct identified pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
(2)
the Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and other United States intelligence agencies, as appropriate, should expand intelligence collection and analysis in support of the efforts described in paragraph (1); and
(3)
the efforts described in paragraph (1) should specifically target foreign persons, including foreign government officials, complicit in acts that weaken, run counter to, or undermine the strategy described in section 111.

C Creating new penalties for hindering immigration, border, and customs controls

Sec. 231 Hindering immigration, border, and customs controls

(a)
Immigration and Nationality Act— The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 274D the following:

“274E. Hindering immigration, border, and customs controls

“(a) Illicit spotting

“(1) In general—It shall be unlawful to knowingly surveil, track, monitor, or transmit the location, movement, or activities of any officer or employee of a Federal, State, or tribal law enforcement agency—

“(A) with the intent to gain financially; and

“(B) in furtherance of any violation of the immigration laws, the customs and trade laws of the United States (as defined in section 2 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–125)), any other Federal law relating to transporting controlled substances, agriculture, or monetary instruments into the United States, or any Federal law relating to border controls measures of the United States.

“(2) Penalty—Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.

“(b) Destruction of United States border controls

“(1) In general—It shall be unlawful to knowingly and without lawful authorization—

“(A) destroy or significantly damage any fence, barrier, sensor, camera, or other physical or electronic device deployed by the Federal Government to control an international border of, or a port of entry to, the United States; or

“(B) otherwise seek to construct, excavate, or make any structure intended to defeat, circumvent or evade such a fence, barrier, sensor camera, or other physical or electronic device deployed by the Federal Government to control an international border of, or a port of entry to, the United States.

“(2) Penalty—Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.”

(b)
Clerical amendment— The table of contents of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 274D the following: