I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6280 
To apply a Whole-of-Government Plan that integrates the full capabilities 
and authorities of each Federal department and agency, in coordination 
with the Government of Mexico, to combat Mexican-based transnational 
criminal organizations, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 2, 2012 
Mr. MACK (for himself, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. BARBER, Mr. 
CANSECO, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Mr. WESTMORELAND) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 
in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security and the Judiciary, 
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 apply a Whole-of-Government Plan that integrates the 
full capabilities and authorities of each Federal depart-
ment and agency, in coordination with the Government 
of Mexico, to combat Mexican-based transnational crimi-
nal organizations, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘United States-Mexico 
Cross-Border Security Act of 2012’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 
It is the purpose of this Act to protect United States 
citizens from external threats by establishing and applying 
a Whole-of-Government Plan that integrates the full capa-
bilities and authorities of each Federal department and 
agency, in coordination with the Government of Mexico, 
to combat Mexican-based transnational criminal organiza-
tions by utilizing cross-agency capabilities to— 
(1) curtail the ability of such organizations to 
finance their operations in the United States using 
illicit proceeds from criminal activities; 
(2) secure the United States-Mexico border at 
and between ports of entry; and 
(3) continue to improve the ability of the Gov-
ernment of Mexico to— 
(A) reduce violence; 
(B) diminish corruption; 
(C) improve cooperation between military 
and law enforcement; 
(D) stabilize communities; and 
(E) fortify functioning government institu-
tions that embrace strong human rights stand-
ards and accountability measures. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Mexican drug trafficking organizations have 
evolved into transnational criminal organizations and 
diversified and expanded their illicit activities, in-
cluding sex-trafficking, human smuggling, traf-
ficking in stolen oil, weapons smuggling, extortion, 
kidnapping, and cybercrime. 
(2) Mexican drug trafficking organizations have 
increased their profits through various illicit activi-
ties and have become more resilient and dangerous 
organizations. 
(3) A July 2011 White House Strategy to Com-
bat Transnational Organized Crime report found 
that transnational criminal organizations ‘‘have ex-
panded and matured, threatening the security of 
citizens and the stability of governments throughout 
the region, with direct security implications for the 
United States’’. 
(4) An August 2011 Department of Justice Na-
tional Drug Threat Assessment found that Mexican- 
based transnational criminal organizations were op-
erating in more than 1,000 United States cities dur-
ing 2009 and 2010. 
(5) On October 11, 2011, a foiled terrorist as-
sassination plot of the Saudi Arabian ambassador by 
members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard 
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Corps demonstrated international perception of 
Mexican drug cartel members’ operability in the 
United States. 
(6) According to press reports, there have been 
more than 55,000 organized crime-related homicides 
in Mexico since December 2006, and a June 2012 
Congressional Research Service report stated that 
‘‘the violence now associated with drug trafficking 
organizations in Mexico is of an entirely different 
scale . . . the bloodletting is not only associated 
with resolving disputes or maintaining discipline, but 
it is directed toward the government and news media 
. . .’’. 
(7) Border security is paramount to the eco-
nomic prosperity of both the United States and Mex-
ico. In 2011, $500 billion in goods and services 
trade crossed the border. Mexico is the second-larg-
est export market for the United States, and the 
United States is Mexico’s largest export market. The 
$34 billion in United States export growth to Mexico 
in 2011 was greater in absolute terms than com-
pared with any other country. Safeguarding this val-
uable trade must be a top priority for both govern-
ments. 
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(8) Me´rida Initiative funding, led by the De-
partment of State, has concluded, and a Whole-of- 
Government Plan is needed to solidify the gains 
made under the Me´rida Initiative and address the 
evolution of Mexican drug trafficking organizations 
into transnational criminal organizations. 
(9) The purpose of a Whole-of-Government 
Plan is to protect United States citizens from exter-
nal threats through increased interagency collabora-
tion and the empowering of a friendly government 
that operates within international standards and 
regulations and is able to secure itself from internal 
threats. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Homeland Security, and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
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ernmental Affairs, and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate. 
(2) TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION 
OR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘transnational crimi-
nal organization’’ or ‘‘organization’’ means a self- 
perpetuating association of individuals who— 
(A) operate transnationally for the purpose 
of obtaining power, influence, monetary gain, or 
commercial gain wholly or in part by illegal 
means; and 
(B) protect their activities— 
(i) through a pattern of corruption or 
violence; or 
(ii) through a transnational organiza-
tional structure and the exploitation of 
transnational commerce or communication 
mechanisms. 
(3) WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT PLAN.—The term 
‘‘Whole-of-Government Plan’’ means a rapid and co-
ordinated effort that reflects the full capabilities and 
resources, and support from the highest levels, of 
the United States Government. 
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SEC. 5. WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT PLAN TO COMBAT MEXI-
CAN-BASED TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL OR-
GANIZATIONS. 
(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
President, 
acting 
through the National Security Council Interagency Group 
established under section 6, shall develop a Whole-of-Gov-
ernment Plan, in coordination with the Government of 
Mexico (including, if appropriate, classified provisions), to 
combat Mexican-based transnational criminal organiza-
tions. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The Whole-of-Government Plan es-
tablished under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) define and outline transnational criminal or-
ganizations in Mexico, including their leaders, goals, 
objectives, evolution, political control, and other key 
elements and areas of influence; 
(2) provide an assessment of the terrain, popu-
lation, ports, financial centers, and income-gener-
ating activities utilized by such transnational crimi-
nal organizations; 
(3) assess the capabilities of Mexico’s law en-
forcement, military forces, state and local govern-
ment institutions, and other critical elements, such 
as nongovernmental organizations, that may orga-
nize 
to 
counter 
the 
threat 
posed 
by 
such 
transnational criminal organizations; 
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(4) illustrate operations of, or on behalf of, 
such transnational criminal organizations within the 
United States, including classified and unclassified 
mappings of their activities within the United 
States, information on trafficking activities, and ille-
gal drug export revenues broken down by major 
drugs, financial networks, and safe havens; 
(5) 
describe 
the 
operations 
of 
such 
transnational criminal organizations along the 
United States-Mexico border, the Mexico-Guatemala 
border, and other international borders, including 
operations relating to the movement of contraband, 
human support networks, financial support, and 
technological advancements; 
(6) include— 
(A) within the United States, a plan to 
combat the operations, financial networks, traf-
ficking of contraband, and money laundering 
techniques of such transnational criminal orga-
nizations, including— 
(i) a report by the Office of Foreign 
Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department 
of the Treasury detailing the progress of 
designating Mexican and Central American 
individuals and entities supporting such 
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transnational criminal organizations on the 
Specially Designated Nationals list, as well 
as providing suggestions to help identify 
areas to further impact the financial net-
works of such transnational criminal orga-
nizations; 
(ii) mapping of transnational criminal 
organization activities within the United 
States, coordinated between the Depart-
ment of the Treasury, the Department of 
Homeland Security, the Department of 
Justice, and State and local agencies; and 
(iii) a coordinated strategy between 
the Department of Justice, the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security, other Federal 
departments and agencies, and State and 
local agencies to enforce existing laws re-
lating to border security and firearms law 
enforcement; 
(B) along the United States-Mexico border, 
in coordination with the Department of Home-
land Security, an interagency risk management 
plan that establishes border security as a top 
United States Government priority by address-
ing resources, technology, personnel, and infra-
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structure required to create a secure southern 
border, including— 
(i) an analysis of United States ports 
of entry, including percentages of appre-
hensions of persons engaged in major 
crime, and estimates of illegal goods and 
persons that transit the southern border 
that escape United States law enforcement 
action; 
(ii) a five-year plan that reviews staff-
ing needs at ports of entry, including a re-
source allocation model for current and fu-
ture year staffing requirements, a plan for 
optimizing staffing levels for U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection and other United 
States Government agencies, a plan for 
personnel to carry out the mission of trade 
facilitation, travel, security, and all other 
border functions, with an analysis of the 
ability to target high-potency, high-cash- 
value drugs that serve as the largest rev-
enue source for such transnational criminal 
organizations; 
(iii) a modernization and infrastruc-
ture assessment of General Services Ad-
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ministration and U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection-owned or -managed ports of 
entry to support U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection activities (including northbound 
and southbound checks) that details crit-
ical infrastructure improvements, tech-
nology additions, and other resources that 
would enhance border security to stop the 
unlawful movement of goods and people 
across the United States-Mexico border; 
(iv) deployment of technologies, in-
cluding cameras, radars, sensors, tunnel 
detection technologies, and unmanned aer-
ial vehicles, required by Border Patrol 
agents to stop unlawful movement of goods 
and people in hard-to-enforce areas at the 
southern border; 
(v) a plan detailing actions to increase 
the use of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement-led Border Enforcement Se-
curity Task Force (BEST) teams that en-
hance information sharing, and U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection-Border Patrol 
Tactical 
Units 
(BORTAC) 
that 
con-
centrate on high-priority threats, including 
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weapons and bulk cash smuggling, and 
high-potency, high-cash-value drugs along 
the southern border; 
(vi) a plan detailing actions to in-
crease intelligence gathering utilizing clas-
sified and unclassified technologies, includ-
ing leveraging the interagency El Paso In-
telligence Center (EPIC) for coordination 
to counter such transnational criminal or-
ganizations; and 
(vii) a plan detailing actions to in-
crease coordination, collaboration, and 
training focused on joint United States- 
Mexico efforts to secure the United States- 
Mexico border; and 
(C) within Mexico, in coordination with a 
multiagency Government of Mexico effort, a 
plan to increase local capabilities to combat ille-
gal activity and violence, including— 
(i) development of strong rule-of-law 
institutions, by— 
(I) assisting in the establishment 
of a system for judicial and prosecu-
torial reform at the state level to en-
hance security for citizens and busi-
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nesses in Mexico, as well as account-
ability for Mexican military and law 
enforcement personnel; 
(II) teaching best practice tech-
niques for utilizing law enforcement in 
the targeting of such transnational 
criminal organizations, incorporating 
United States military and law en-
forcement lessons learned; and 
(III) enhancing work with Mexi-
can officials to establish and imple-
ment a state-level law enforcement 
vetting and training program; 
(ii) diminishing support for such 
transnational criminal organizations by— 
(I) assisting the Government of 
Mexico to develop a plan to cut off fi-
nancial assets within Mexico of those 
entities 
and 
individuals 
identified 
under OFAC’s Specially Designated 
Nationals list; 
(II) aiming programs at expand-
ing the trust of the populace, requir-
ing all vetted law enforcement per-
sonnel to be trained in teaching cul-
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ture of lawfulness programs, and pro-
viding incentives to United States 
businesses operating in Mexico that 
promote and support culture of law-
fulness efforts; and 
(III) developing safe communities 
for families and youth by enhancing 
and recreating successful youth pro-
grams and antidrug coalitions, public 
education, health care access, and eco-
nomic development programs through 
the work of the United States Agency 
for International Development and 
Mexican 
NGOs 
to 
prevent 
such 
transnational criminal organizations 
from exploiting socio-economic condi-
tions that fuel violence; and 
(iii) dismantling such transnational 
criminal organizations by— 
(I) focusing Mexican military and 
federal law enforcement on estab-
lishing and expanding secure areas 
around key population centers; 
(II) supporting strategically vet-
ted and specialized Mexican law en-
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forcement units to concentrate on 
high-priority targets and border patrol 
duties on the United States-Mexico 
and Mexico-Guatemala borders; 
(III) supporting development of a 
plan to increase cross-border coordi-
nation and cooperation for border law 
enforcement officers to prevent and 
address lethal force cases and sce-
narios; 
(IV) requesting the support of 
qualified experts to assist in the for-
mulation of a plan to incorporate such 
strategically vetted and specialized 
Mexican law enforcement units into 
such a focused and targeted overall 
approach; and 
(V) supporting Mexican federal 
and state law enforcement operations 
that provide services to the population 
while gathering and acting upon raw 
intelligence; and 
(7) include information on trends in Mexican 
and Central American extradition requests and ex-
traditions carried out. 
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(c) EXECUTIVE AGENT TO LEAD NATIONAL SECU-
RITY COUNCIL INTERAGENCY GROUP.—The President 
shall appoint the Deputy Secretary of State as the execu-
tive agent who shall preside over the National Security 
Council Interagency Group established under section 6, 
supported by the Assistant to the President for National 
Security Affairs in the Executive Office of the President, 
in consultation with the Secretary of State, utilizing infor-
mation obtained pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (7) 
of subsection (b) to coordinate and strengthen United 
States interagency operations through a cohesive and 
transparent plan to successfully combat Mexican-based 
transnational criminal organizations within the United 
States, along the United States-Mexico border, and within 
Mexico. 
(d) REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall transmit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report that contains the Whole- 
of-Government Plan developed under this section. 
(2) UPDATES.—The President shall transmit to 
the appropriate congressional committees updates on 
an annual basis for the five-year period beginning on 
the date of the transmission of the report required 
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under paragraph (1) of the information required to 
be included in the Whole-of-Government Plan devel-
oped under this section. 
(e) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—Not 
later than 90 days after the transmission of the Whole- 
of-Government Plan contained in the report under sub-
section (d)(1), the President shall transmit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a plan that— 
(1) details implementation procedures for the 
plan using baseline indicators, metrics, and measur-
able goals in a cohesive and transparent manner; 
and 
(2) identifies specific impediments to inter-
agency coordination and cooperation with respect to 
the plan, as well as recommendations for addressing 
identified impediments. 
SEC. 6. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL INTERAGENCY 
GROUP. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inter-
agency working group to be known as the ‘‘National Secu-
rity Council Interagency Group’’ (in this section referred 
to as the ‘‘NSC Interagency Group’’). 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The NSC Interagency Group 
shall be composed of, at a minimum, representatives at 
the Deputy Secretary level from the Department of State, 
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the Department of Homeland Security, the Department 
of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Depart-
ment of Defense, and the National Security Council. 
(c) MEETINGS.—The NSC Interagency Group shall 
meet at the call of the Deputy Secretary of State. 
(d) DUTIES.—The NSC Interagency Group shall— 
(1) develop the Whole-of-Government Plan 
under section 5; 
(2) develop the implementation report for the 
Whole-of-Government Plan under section 5, using 
baseline indicators, metrics, and measurable goals; 
and 
(3) enhance coordination and cooperation 
among Federal departments and agencies for pro-
curing goods and services and the implementation of 
the Whole-of-Government Plan under section 5. 
SEC. 7. FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF WHOLE-OF-GOV-
ERNMENT PLAN. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary of State shall use funds made available to the De-
partment of State, as the Secretary determines appro-
priate, to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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