I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2124 
To improve the safety, security, and operational control of the international 
border by providing the Department of Homeland Security with an 
accurate definition of the term ‘‘cross-border violence’’, to require the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to develop measures to quantify cross- 
border violence data for reporting to Congress and other entities, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 3, 2011 
Mr. CANSECO (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mrs. MILLER of Michigan) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To improve the safety, security, and operational control of 
the international border by providing the Department 
of Homeland Security with an accurate definition of the 
term ‘‘cross-border violence’’, to require the Secretary 
of Homeland Security to develop measures to quantify 
cross-border violence data for reporting to Congress and 
other entities, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southwest Cross-bor-
der Violence Recognition Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN CROSS-BORDER VIOLENCE. 
(a) CREATION OF NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 
FOR A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF CROSS-BORDER 
VIOLENCE.—In seeking to increase security and reduce 
cross-border violence along the United States border, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall, not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the 
metrics, described in subsection (c), to be used to gauge 
the incidents or occurrences of cross-border violence and 
how the resulting findings shall be quantified for periodic 
reporting in accordance with subsection (b). 
(b) PERIODIC REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the submission of the report required under sub-
section (a) and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate a report on the incidents or occur-
rences of cross-border violence during the immediately 
preceding 90-day period, incorporating the metrics re-
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ferred to in such subsection, and including information 
and crime statistics from Federal, State, local, and tribal 
sources. 
(c) METRICS DESCRIBED.—The metrics referred to 
in subsection (a) shall include such sources of information 
as— 
(1) border sheriff and State law enforcement 
reports on crime, vandalism, theft, burglary, appre-
hensions, accidents, and capital crimes; 
(2) reports from local hospitals in border States 
regarding the number of individuals (whether citi-
zens, lawful permanent residents, or foreign nation-
als) treated for wounds obtained during acts of 
cross-border violence; 
(3) impact to property values and businesses 
along the border as a result of factors such as acts 
of vandalism, theft, burglary, destruction of prop-
erty, and intimidation; 
(4) accounts of cross-border violence along the 
border reported by U.S. Immigrations and Customs 
Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
including the Border Patrol, and other Federal de-
partments and agencies determined appropriate by 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) 
CROSS-BORDER
VIOLENCE.—The 
term 
‘‘cross-border violence’’ means— 
(A) any act of violence— 
(i) carried out by a foreign national, 
a citizen or lawful permanent resident of 
the United States, entity (whether foreign 
or domestic), or organization (whether for-
eign or domestic) (including a drug traf-
ficking or human trafficking organization) 
acting in the interest of or on behalf of a 
foreign national, foreign organization, or 
foreign entity that occurs in the United 
States not further than 100 miles from the 
United States border; or 
(ii) that benefits any foreign national, 
citizen or lawful permanent resident of the 
United States, or entity or organization re-
ferred to in clause (i) profiting from un-
lawful activity across the United States 
border with a nexus to foreign organized 
crime, Foreign Drug Trafficking Organiza-
tions (DTO), or Trans-national Criminal 
Organization (TCO) (as such organizations 
are described in the September 2009 De-
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partment of Homeland Security Border 
Task Force recommendations report); or 
(B) any act of violence committed by a for-
eign national, entity (whether foreign or domes-
tic), organization (whether foreign or domestic), 
or lawful permanent resident or citizen of the 
United States acting in the interest, or on be-
half of, a foreign national, foreign organization, 
or foreign entity referred to in subparagraph 
(A) that is targeted at or occurs during an ac-
tivity that is unlawful under Federal, State, or 
local law that is intentionally or unintentionally 
inflicted upon any individual, property, entity, 
or organization in the United States not further 
than 100 miles from the United States border, 
or occurring in the United States not further 
than 100 miles from the United States border 
but originating outside the United States. 
(2) 
VIOLENCE.—The 
term 
‘‘violence’’ 
in-
cludes— 
(A) criminal violence, including the crimi-
nal use of force or threat of force occurring in 
the United States, as reported by Federal, 
State, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies; 
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