112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1236 

AN ACT 

To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent human 

smuggling across the Southwest Border by deterring the 

construction and use of border tunnels. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Tunnel Preven3 tion Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) As the international border between the 

7 United States and Mexico becomes more secure, 

8 trafficking and smuggling organizations intensify 

9 their efforts to enter the United States by increasing 

10 the number of tunnels and other subterranean pas11 sages between Mexico and the United States. 

12 (2) Border tunnels are most often used to 

13 transport narcotics from Mexico to the United 

14 States, but can also be used to transport people and 

15 other contraband. 

16 (3) Between May 1990 and May 2011, law en17 forcement authorities discovered 137 tunnels, 125 of 

18 which have been discovered since September 2001. 

19 While law enforcement authorities discovered only 2 

20 tunnels in California between 1990 and 2001, there 

21 has been a dramatic increase in the number of bor22 der tunnels discovered in California since 2001. 

23 (4) Section 551 of the Department of Home24 land Security Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 

25 109–295) added a new section to title 18, United 

26 States Code (18 U.S.C. 555), which— 
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1 (A) criminalizes the construction or financ2 ing of an unauthorized tunnel or subterranean 

3 passage across an international border into the 

4 United States; and 

5 (B) prohibits any person from recklessly 

6 permitting others to construct or use an unau7 thorized tunnel or subterranean passage on the 

8 person’s land. 

9 (5) Any person convicted of using a tunnel or 

10 subterranean passage to smuggle aliens, weapons, 

11 drugs, terrorists, or illegal goods is subject to an en12 hanced sentence for the underlying offense. Addi13 tional sentence enhancements would further deter 

14 tunnel activities and increase prosecutorial options. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) NATIONAL SECURITY ZONE.—The term 

18 ‘‘national security zone’’ means any Southwest Bor19 der land designated by the Secretary as being at a 

20 high risk for border tunnel activity, as authorized 

21 under section 8(b). 

22 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
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1 (3) SOUTHWEST BORDER LAND.—The term 

2 ‘‘Southwest Border land’’ means all parcels of real 

3 property in the United States that— 

4 (A) are located within 1 mile of the inter5 national border between the United States and 

6 Mexico; and 

7 (B) are not owned by a Federal, State, 

8 tribal, or local government entity. 

9 SEC. 4. ATTEMPT OR CONSPIRACY TO USE, CONSTRUCT, OR 

10 FINANCE A BORDER TUNNEL. 

11 Section 555 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) Any person who attempts or conspires to commit 

14 any offense under this section shall be subject to the same 

15 penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commis16 sion of which was the object of the attempt or con17 spiracy.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION FOR INTERCEPTION OF WIRE, 

19 ORAL, OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. 

20 Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, 

21 is amended by inserting ‘‘, section 555 (relating to con22 struction or use of international border tunnels)’’ before 

23 the semicolon at the end. 
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1 SEC. 6. FORFEITURE. 

2 (a) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—Section 982(a)(2)(B) 

3 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

4 ‘‘555,’’ after ‘‘545,’’. 

5 (b) CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE.—Any merchandise 

6 introduced into the United States through a tunnel or pas7 sage described in section 555(a) of title 18, United States 

8 Code, shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture in accord9 ance with section 596(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

10 U.S.C. 1595a(c)). 

11 SEC. 7. MONEY LAUNDERING DESIGNATION. 

12 Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States 

13 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘section 555 (relating to 

14 border tunnels),’’ after ‘‘section 554 (relating to smug15 gling goods from the United States),’’. 

16 SEC. 8. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) NOTIFICATION TO LAND OWNERS.—The Sec18 retary is encouraged to annually provide each known non19 governmental owner and tenant of land located in a na20 tional security zone with a written notification that de21 scribes— 

22 (1) Federal laws related to the construction of 

23 illegal border tunnels; and 

24 (2) the procedures for reporting violations of 

25 such laws to U.S. Immigration and Customs En26 forcement. 
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1 (b) DESIGNATION OF BORDER TUNNEL HIGH RISK

2 AREAS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may des4 ignate any Southwest Border land that the Sec5 retary has a substantial reason to believe is at a 

6 high risk for border tunnel activity as a national se7 curity zone. 

8 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall— 

9 (A) publish any designations made under 

10 paragraph (1) in the Federal Register; and 

11 (B) allow appropriate notice and comment 

12 in accordance with the chapter 5 of title 5, 

13 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

14 the ‘‘Administrative Procedures Act’’). 

15 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

17 promulgate regulations to carry out this section. 

18 SEC. 9. REPORT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit an an20 nual report to the congressional committees set forth in 

21 subsection (b) that includes a description of— 

22 (1) the cross border tunnels in Southwest Bor23 der land discovered during the reporting period; and 

24 (2) the needs of the Department of Homeland 

25 Security to effectively prevent, investigate and pros-
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1 ecute border tunnel construction on Southwest Bor2 der land. 

3 (b) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The congres4 sional committees set forth in this subsection are— 

5 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

6 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

7 (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen8 ate; 

9 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (4) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

12 House of Representatives; 

13 (5) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

14 House of Representatives; and 

15 (6) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

16 House of Representatives. 

Passed the Senate January 30, 2012. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1236 

AN ACT 

To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent 

tunnels. by deterring the construction and use of border human smuggling across the Southwest Border