Magaziner Co-Leads Bill to Crack Down on Fentanyl Trafficking at Southern Border

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Committee on Homeland Security today passed H.R.9722: Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful (CATCH) Fentanyl Act. This bipartisan legislation, co-led by U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02), will establish a pilot program to use emerging technologies to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and speed up the inspection process at land ports of entry along the border.

“Fentanyl has claimed the lives of thousands of Americans, and we need to do more to stop the flow of illicit drugs at the southern border,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “This bill will leverage promising new technologies at land ports of entry to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and other contraband while allowing legal trade to flow more efficiently.”

The CATCH Fentanyl Act will require the Department of Homeland Security to establish a pilot program that tests the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing and other emerging technologies to detect contraband, including illicit fentanyl, illegal weapons and human trafficking. The bill also aims to increase efficiencies in inspections and reduce wait times at ports of entry. 

Currently, the Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) system program used at ports of entry to scan vehicles and cargo for anomalies such as fentanyl only scans approximately 2% of passenger vehicles and less than 20% of cargo vehicles due to the following issues identified by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP): 

• Only one-third of the passenger vehicle NII scanning systems CBP plans to use at ports of entry have the capability to adequately scan the undercarriage of vehicles, where fentanyl is often located;
• Certain NII technology can’t physically fit at ports of entry located on bridges and surrounded by privately-owned land;
• Machines that scan for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) can’t be placed near cargo scanning machines because of the radiation they release, which causes WMD scanning machines to make false detections;
• And lines at POEs continue to be eight to 12 hours long during peak times at busier ports.

The Senate version of this bill was introduced by U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and passed out of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) earlier this year. The House companion is led by U.S. Representatives Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Seth Magaziner (D-RI). The bill text can be found here.