The Senate passed the border tunnel bill

The Senate passed the border tunnel bill (Alberta Times) The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to specifically crack down on the US-Mexico border tunnel in the southwest...

(Alberta Times)

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to specifically crack down on smuggling criminal activities through the southwest U.S.-Mexico border tunnel. The bill, authored by state Republican Sen. John Kyl and California Democratic Sen. Feinstein, would provide more tools to find illegal border crossings, identify criminals and punish law enforcement officials and prosecutors who participate in illegal activities. Kyle said that in the past 10 years, law enforcement officials have discovered 135 illegal tunnels along the border, mainly connecting Mexico to Arizona, California or Texas. The main purpose of the Border Tunnels Prevention and Control Act 2011 is to detect secret funds for the construction of border tunnels, including illegal tunnel tapping (i.e., the use of drugs or other contraband to facilitate eavesdropping), identify illegal activities in border tunnels, and allow authorities to confiscate the assets of suspects, subject to existing confiscation and money laundering regulations. On Friday, Mexican authorities seized an unfinished tunnel entrance that appeared to be some distance from the U.S. border.