IB 
Union Calendar No. 288 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4119 
[Report No. 112–418, Part I] 
To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent human smuggling across 
the Southwest Border by deterring the construction and use of border tunnels. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2012 
Mr. REYES (for himself, Mr. QUAYLE, Mr. DREIER, and Mr. THOMPSON of 
Mississippi) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and 
Means and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
MARCH 21, 2012 
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary 
MARCH 21, 2012 
The Committees on Ways and Means and Homeland Security discharged; 
committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union and ordered to be printed 
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A BILL 
To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent human 
smuggling across the Southwest Border by deterring the 
construction and use of border tunnels. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Tunnel Preven-
tion Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Trafficking and smuggling organizations are 
intensifying their efforts to enter the United States 
through tunnels and other subterranean passages 
between Mexico and the United States. 
(2) Border tunnels are most often used to 
transport narcotics from Mexico to the United 
States, but can also be used to transport people and 
other contraband. 
(3) From Fiscal Year 1990 to Fiscal Year 
2011, law enforcement authorities discovered 149 
cross-border tunnels along the border between Mex-
ico and the United States, 139 of which have been 
discovered since Fiscal Year 2001. There has been 
a dramatic increase in the number of cross-border 
tunnels discovered in Arizona and California since 
Fiscal Year 2006, with 40 tunnels discovered in 
California and 74 tunnels discovered in Arizona. 
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(4) Section 551 of the Department of Home-
land Security Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 
109–295) added a new section to title 18, United 
States Code (18 U.S.C. 555), which— 
(A) criminalizes the construction or financ-
ing of an unauthorized tunnel or subterranean 
passage across an international border into the 
United States; and 
(B) prohibits any person from recklessly 
permitting others to construct or use an unau-
thorized tunnel or subterranean passage on the 
person’s land. 
(5) Any person convicted of using a tunnel or 
subterranean passage to smuggle aliens, weapons, 
drugs, terrorists, or illegal goods is subject to an en-
hanced sentence for the underlying offense. Addi-
tional sentence enhancements would further deter 
tunnel activities and increase prosecutorial options. 
SEC. 3. ATTEMPT OR CONSPIRACY TO USE, CONSTRUCT, OR 
FINANCE A BORDER TUNNEL. 
Section 555 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) Any person who attempts or conspires to commit 
any offense under subsection (a) or subsection (c) of this 
section shall be subject to the same penalties as those pre-
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(2) the needs of the Department of Homeland 
Security to effectively prevent, investigate and pros-
ecute border tunnel construction along the border 
between Mexico and the United States. 
(b) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The congres-
sional committees set forth in this subsection are— 
(1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 
(2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen-
ate; 
(3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate; 
(4) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives; 
(5) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives; and 
(6) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives. 
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Union Calendar No. 288 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4119 
[Report No. 112–418, Part I] 
A BILL 
To reduce the trafficking of drugs and to prevent 
human smuggling across the Southwest Border 
by deterring the construction and use of border 
tunnels. 
MARCH 21, 2012 
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary 
MARCH 21, 2012 
The Committees on Ways and Means and Homeland Se-
curity discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 
to be printed 
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