Heinrich and Vasquez visit border, talk about new bill to stop fentanyl

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and Representative Gabe Vasquez discussed a bill to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States after visiting the Santa Teresa Port of Entry Monday morning to check out new border technology. Vasquez, who represents the state’s 2nd Congressional District, introduced the Stop Fentanyl Act at the (…)

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and Representative Gabe Vasquez discussed a bill to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States after visiting the Port of Santa Teresa Monday morning to view new border technology.

Vasquez, who represents the state’s 2nd Congressional District, introduced the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act in July along with several of his colleagues in the House of Representatives. The same bill was introduced in the Senate last winter. Both Heinrich and Sen. Ben Ray Luján are co-sponsors of the bill. Both senators, like Vasquez, are Democrats.

The Senate bill is pending in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The House bill is pending in the House Budget Committee.

According to Vasquez, the bill provides more than $5 billion to strengthen border security, improve U.S. drug enforcement capabilities, fund the hiring of more border agents and deploy “advanced, non-intrusive and specialized technology” to better enable border agents to intercept illicit substances during commercial and non-commercial border crossings.

Vasquez noted that 70 percent of the people crossing the border using illegal substances are U.S. citizens.

Vasquez said Mexican cartels lure teenagers to U.S. border cities, such as Sunland Park, where families live in economically depressed areas. He said teenagers are targeted because if they are caught, the legal implications are far less severe than if an adult is caught smuggling illegal substances across the border.

According to Vasquez, the teens smuggling the substances are “looking for ways to bring money home to their families.”

Vasquez said that in addition to filing legislation to address the problem, he asked High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Director Will Glaspy about using asset confiscation to educate young people about their own futures.

Previous bills Vasquez has introduced to address this issue include the Stop Coyotes Act, which would increase penalties for people convicted of human trafficking and those who involve minors in illegal activities. He introduced that bill last year as part of a larger border package. He introduced the No More Narcos Act last spring, which would create an educational campaign to inform middle school and high school students living within 100 miles of the border about the dangers of being involved in illegal drug trafficking.

Neither bill passed.

Heinrich called Vasquez “one of the most progressive members of the House” who has introduced policy changes to address the fentanyl crisis.

Heinrich said, “We get things done most effectively in New Mexico when we work together,” and said the Fend Off Fentanyl Act was recently passed and gives law enforcement the tools to “go after the financial resources” of drug trafficking entities. He said he believes the U.S. will see the “consequences of that in the coming years.”

He said there has also been a lot of investment in technology, saying there has been a $400 million allocation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection so that agents at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry will have advanced scanners that can scan commercial and noncommercial vehicles that pass through the port of entry. He also mentioned the new ballistics testing machines for which he has received federal funding, one of which will be installed in Las Cruces.

“We’ve been able to secure resources in Las Cruces. By putting all that technology into local law enforcement, it gives them the tools to address this crisis,” he said.

Related: Heinrich Announces Over $1 Million for Ballistics Testing Machines

Heinrich and Vasquez began the day with a tour of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry to see the scanning technology. Heinrich and Vasquez joined news media outside the port and called the scanning technology “state of the art.” Heinrich said he and Vasquez hope to see it used at ports of entry along the border.

Heinrich said that despite the new technology, border agents can’t scan 100 percent of the vehicles that pass through the port of entry. He said that as the federal government continues to “add more technology,” he hopes part of that will be artificial intelligence that can help agents “focus on the images that are most likely to tell them that someone is probably trying to move contraband.”

Heinrich said he believes that after the November general election, the comprehensive border security bill, which stalled last spring after former President Donald Trump told Republicans they would not vote for it, will return to the Senate floor. Heinrich said that “that bill would have passed” if Trump “hadn’t asked his party to back out of it.”

The border security bill included some concessions from Democrats, including making it harder for asylum seekers to stay in the U.S. and tightening border controls. But after Trump asked Republicans to let the bill fail, Senate Republicans voted to filibuster.

Heinrich said that while the law may be “tweaked here and there,” he hopes it will pass after the 2024 elections. Heinrich also said the federal government faces “fundamental challenges” with how migrants are allowed to apply for asylum. He said it can currently take 10 years for migrants to have their hearing in an asylum court to find out if they can stay in the U.S.

“It should take six months,” Heinrich said.

Vasquez said it is up to members of Congress who represent border states, such as New Mexico, to educate their colleagues about what an economic engine ports of entry are. Mexico is the U.S.’s largest trading partner and has been for years.

According to Vasquez, expanding U.S. ports into Mexico would create more jobs for local communities, and better flow of goods into the country would lower the price of goods.

“There is no one solution when it comes to fixing the border. The border means a lot. And binational communities like Sunland Park and Santa Teresa and El Paso, they know it’s more than just the asylum process,” Vasquez said.