The human toll of cartel crime at the border.
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U.S. Border Patrol agents with a K-9 unit detain undocumented immigrants after they illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on October 18, 2016 in McAllen, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
As the senior senator from our largest border state, John Cornyn has been on the frontlines of the crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border for years.
This week, Senator Cornyn joined Hudson Institute to discuss the human toll and national security risks of cartel crime, as well as Congressional efforts to fight transnational organizations that profit from human smuggling and America's opioid epidemic. Below, find some of Senator Cornyn's observations from the border and Hudson's research on transnational crime.
Cartels and the Border Crisis
Select quotes from Senator John Cornyn's remarks and discussion at Hudson:
On the human cost:
"These criminal enterprises are savagely relentless, and their list of victims is a long one...We've been working with the local officials at Brooks County, Texas. They simply don't have the tax base to deal with the simple human burial for these remains of the migrants who die trying to circumvent the checkpoint. And again, the coyotes really don't care. It's just part of the cost of doing business."
On smuggling children:
"Smugglers have realized that if you bring a child - any child - and pose as a family, you'll be released in less than 20 days… As result, we've seen a massive increase in the number of family unit apprehensions."
"In May of 2018, 9,500 family units were apprehended. In May this year, that number skyrocketed to 84,000 in one month alone. We simply cannot allow this to continue. The HUMANE Act would clarify that the Flores Settlement Agreement only applies to unaccompanied children and not families. It also takes steps to make sure migrants in our custody receive humane care."
On the proposed NARCOS legislation:
"The time to act is - well, it was yesterday. This Congress, I was selected to co-chair the Senate International Caucus on Narcotics Control, where we've been examining opportunities to stop narcotics trafficking and fight drug abuse throughout the country. My proposal is to attack this problem from multiple angles - something we call the New Americas Recommitment to Counternarcotics Operations and Strategy Initiative...Transnational criminal organizations and the drug cartels will stop at nothing to exploit Americans who are addicted to the narcotics that are tearing families and communities apart. The NARCOS Initiative also goes after the cartels and transnational organizations peddling them."
On a global artery of crime:
"Lest you think that this is just a Central American and Mexican problem, [along the] McAllen sector of the Border Patrol last year, they detained people from 60 - that's 6-0 - different countries. So the word is out. International networks are funneling people through Central America and Mexico into the United States. They take full advantage of gaps in our border security and flaws in our immigration laws."
The above remarks have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Go Deeper: Hudson Experts on Transnational Crime
America Must Combat Illicit Finance
The ability to secretly transfer stolen wealth into the U.S. has fueled corruption across the developing world, resulting in illicit financial flows that now dwarf humanitarian aid and development expenditures.
By Ken Weinstein and Nate Sibley, The Hill
A Strategy to Counter the Opioid Epidemic: Contain, Reduce, Extinguish
Supply-side initiatives, such as partnerships with Mexico, Columbia, and Afghanistan, can reduce illicit opioid use and trafficking to the U.S.
By David Murray, John Walters, and Brian Blake
The Enablers: How Western Professionals Import Corruption and Strengthen Authoritarianism
Western professionals and authoritarian elites have not only fueled a boom in money laundering; it has transformed significant elements of the most distinguished, influential professions into wholesale importers of transnational corruption.
By Nate Sibley and Ben Judah
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