Measure targets drug, human trafficking

Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) are touting legislation designed to ensure the intelligence community prioritizes resources to combat Northern Triangle and Mexico drug trafficking, human trafficking, and human smuggling.

The representatives previously introduced the Trafficking and Smuggling Intelligence Act, which recently advanced the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“Human traffickers and smugglers are exacerbating the crisis at our southern border and putting innocent lives at risk,” Hurd said. “Understanding and disabling these smuggling and trafficking networks should be a national intelligence priority. I am proud of the work my friend Rep. Spanberger and I put into this bipartisan effort to dismantle these dangerous smuggling networks, mitigate the border crisis, and keep Americans safe. I’ll continue to work across the aisle over the next year to find bipartisan solutions to this crisis.”

Legislation provisions include requiring the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to provide Congress with analytical assessments of the activities of drug trafficking organizations, human traffickers, and human smugglers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, and requiring the DNI’s assessments address how the activities of these organizations affect the security and economic situation in these countries and contribute to migration to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“To strengthen the security of our borders and points of entry, part of our strategy must include addressing the root causes of increased migration and violent conflict in Central America,” Spanberger said. “The volatility in our backyard should be a major concern as we look to protect American families and communities, and our legislation is a step toward building a tough, smart response to the reprehensible activities of cartels and traffickers in the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico.”