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Putting the brakes on human smuggling
Victoria Advocate
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
By: Senator John Cornyn
More than five years ago, our nation witnessed the deadliest human smuggling attempt in U.S. history. A man with no regard for human life attempted to smuggle 74 men, women and children across the Mexican border and into Texas. The driver, Tyrone Williams, refused to turn the refrigeration unit on during the trip, despite the pleas of passengers. Authorities later testified the temperature rose to 173 degrees in the trailer, and the interior walls were marred with bloody hand prints and dents where passengers attempted to kick holes to allow for ventilation. In Victoria, about 100 miles short of his destination, the driver abandoned the truck and the immigrants. In all, 19 men, including a 5-year-old boy, died of dehydration, overheating and suffocation.
While Williams was convicted and is currently serving a life sentence in prison, a loophole in federal law allowed this reckless criminal to keep a privilege he had no business retaining. Under current law, tougher penalties are inflicted on commercial motor vehicle operators who smuggle narcotics into and through the country than those who smuggle humans. Because of this disparity, Williams did not have his New York state commercial driver license (CDL) revoked because his crime was “not considered a traffic offense.”
To close this dangerous loophole, I’ve introduced the Putting the Brakes on Human Smuggling Act to finally mandate the suspension or even revocation of CDLs when used to intentionally smuggle people into and through the United States. This is not only a critical step in preventing further exploitation and endangerment of illegal immigrants, but it is also a matter of national security, as some smugglers may attempt to bring criminals and potential terrorists into our country.
In recent years, there have been numerous reports of suspected terrorist activity in relation to human and weapon smuggling across the U.S./Mexico border. According to a November 2007 article in the Washington Times, an FBI advisory issued earlier in the year warned security officials at the nation’s largest intelligence training center, Fort Huachuca, that possibly 60 Afghan and Iraqi terrorists had been smuggled into the country through underground tunnels, with the aid of Mexican drug cartels. The advisory warned their goal was to attack the post using smuggled weapons. Fort Huachuca officials made changes to security operations to prepare for any such attack.
In 2006, law enforcement officers from several Texas border counties reported that Arabs living in Mexico were learning Spanish and aspects of Mexican culture before paying smugglers to bring them across the border into the U.S. The Texas Sheriffs’ Border Coalition said they had reason to believe these individuals were likely terrorists being aided by Mexican drug cartels. One Texas sheriff reported that Iranian currency, military badges in Arabic, jackets and other clothing were being discovered along the banks of the Rio Grande River.
Overall, illegal weapons and drug and human smuggling have been on the rise in Texas and throughout the United States due to a dramatic increase in Mexican gang and drug cartel activity. In the first six months of 2008 alone, Border Patrol agents in Texas have intercepted 423 tractor trailers resulting in the detainment of more than 1,800 undocumented immigrants and more than 112,000 pounds of illegal drugs.
The Mexican drug cartels have merged the practice of human smuggling with drug trafficking, using immigrants as “mules” to transport drugs as their fee for passage into the U.S. Many of these cartels operate “drop houses,” which are homes in the U.S. where immigrants hide out after crossing the border. Law enforcement officials have reported numerous cases of violence at drop houses, typically when the smuggled immigrants are not able to pay the remainder of their fees for transport — typically $1,500 to $2,000 per person.
Building on Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” initiative, a partnership between Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety to revoke the CDLs of convicted felony smugglers, my new bill would take these efforts a step further. The Putting the Brakes on Human Smuggling Act would, for the first time on the federal level, clearly indemnify “human smuggling” as a basis for the suspension of a CDL or lifetime disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle.
In addition, my legislation will rectify this discrepancy not only in Texas, but nationwide.
All commercial vehicle operators who engage in human smuggling, no matter the state where they are apprehended, will be subject to the new penalties.
We are all too familiar with the human smuggling tragedies that have occurred over the years in Texas and along our nation’s borders.
I’m hopeful my colleagues in the Senate will join me in passing this legislation to close this dangerous loophole in federal law and make Texas and America safer.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn represents Texas in Congress.
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