Lankford Leads Bill to Stop Drug Smuggling at the Southern Border

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Chairman on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs SubcommitteeonBorder Management, Federal Workforce and Regulatory Affairs, introduced the Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade (BEST) Facilitation Act to support border law enforcement by providing additional personnel to scan cargo for illegal drugs and guns or human smuggling. 

“Adding more personnel at ports of entry will immediately provide our country with another layer of security to prevent traffickers from smuggling weapons or drugs across the border. Border law enforcement has repeatedly asked for more support to analyze cargo images in real time, so this bill also gives them tools they need to catch criminals and secure our border,” said Lankford. 

Lankford is joined on this bill by Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and John Cornyn (R-TX).

Border law enforcement told Lankford directly that addressing this issue would help them better enforce the law at our ports of entry. The bill creates within Customs and Border Protection (CBP), positions for what are called “image technicians” who will review and assess scans of cargo images and either recommend entry to the primary inspection CBP officer or refer for further inspection any cargo they suspect may have illegal or illicit items.

The bill also creates the position of “supervisory image technicians” to review and assess difficult-to- review images in addition to the regular duties of imagetechnicians. This position will also receive, report, and disseminate intelligence to and from the National Targeting Center to image adjudicators. The bill would also mandate training and annual assessments for imagetechnicians, require the development of a workforce staffing model, and institute reporting requirements.

This legislation is supported by US Travel, Border Trade Alliance, National Sheriffs Association, and National Association of Counties.

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