I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2264 
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 
JUNE 21, 2011 
Mr. REYES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Secu-
rity and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
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. 
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 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) As the international border between the 
United States and Mexico becomes more secure, 
trafficking and smuggling organizations intensify 
their efforts to enter the United States by increasing 
the number of tunnels and other subterranean pas-
sages 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) Between May 1990 and May 2011, law en-
forcement authorities discovered 137 tunnels, 125 of 
which have been discovered since September 2001. 
While law enforcement authorities discovered only 2 
tunnels in California between 1990 and 2001, there 
has been a dramatic increase in the number of bor-
der tunnels discovered in California since 2001. 
(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 
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(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. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) NATIONAL
SECURITY
ZONE.—The term 
‘‘national security zone’’ means any Southwest Bor-
der land designated by the Secretary as being at a 
high risk for border tunnel activity, as authorized 
under section 8(b). 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
(3) SOUTHWEST
BORDER
LAND.—The term 
‘‘Southwest Border land’’ means all parcels of real 
property in the United States that— 
(A) are located within 1 mile of the inter-
national border between the United States and 
Mexico; and 
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(B) are not owned by a Federal, State, 
tribal, or local government entity. 
SEC. 4. 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 this section shall be subject to the same 
penalties as those prescribed for the offense, the commis-
sion of which was the object of the attempt or con-
spiracy.’’. 
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION FOR INTERCEPTION OF WIRE, 
ORAL, OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. 
Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting ‘‘, section 555 (relating to con-
struction or use of international border tunnels)’’ before 
the semicolon at the end. 
SEC. 6. FORFEITURE. 
(a) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—Section 982(a)(2)(B) 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
‘‘555,’’ after ‘‘545,’’. 
(b) CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE.—Any merchandise 
introduced into the United States through a tunnel or pas-
sage described in section 555(a) of title 18, United States 
Code, shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture in accord-
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