Sen. James Lankford, R-OK, said that he and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-AZ, have been working together to patrol social media activity by transnational criminal organizations that have used these platforms to recruit teenagers for illegal activities.
The Combating Cartels on Social Media Act, introduced by Lankford and Sinema on January 14 and reported from the full Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on June 14, will allow law enforcement to better combat the problem, a Sinema press release said.
Sinema and Lankford are the chair and ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management.
The bill, S. 61, requires the Department of Homeland Security to create a national strategy to counter cartel recruitment and educate vulnerable young individuals about the dangers linked to smuggling operations, a Just the News article said.
"@SenatorSinema & I are working to crack down on social media companies who are allowing the cartels to advertise, promote how to illegally enter the US, & show people how to avoid Border Patrol. Today, @HSGAC took the first steps to stop it. @ElonMusk, this has to stop," Lankford tweeted.
The bill seeks to create a thorough nationwide plan to tackle these concerns. If enacted, the legislation would compel the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen its surveillance of cartels' utilization of social media networks. A companion bill in the House was referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the House Judiciary Committee on April 7.
The Senate bill was cosponsored by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-AZ, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-TN, Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC.
“Social media companies list in their ‘terms of service’ that the platform cannot be used for illegal activities, but at the same time they allow human smugglers to buy ads, promote how to illegally enter the U.S., and demonstrate how to avoid the US Border Patrol when crossing the border.” Lankford continued. “Social media companies need to be held accountable for turning their heads to human trafficking at the cost of human lives.”
According to Fox News, sheriff’s deputies in Hidalgo County, TX, picked up 84 migrants unloading from a tractor-trailer located 12 miles from the border. The article reported that a video that was verified by the Texas Department of Public Safety had been posted on TikTok and said, "Need someone who can drive an 18 wheeler right now mcallen to houston already ready $70k."
Texas DPS spokesman Christopher Olivarez told Fox, "Many individuals from larger metropolitan areas such as Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and even out of state are being recruited as drivers through social media platforms to smuggle illegal immigrants."
According to a local NBC News report, law enforcement authorities in Cochise County, AZ have reported a noticeable surge in this type of recruitment activity.
"We see it all the time," Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County said.
From January 2023 until the end of May, Sheriff Dannels' department apprehended 21 teenagers involved in border-related offenses. Last year, the overall count reached 89, exclusively including teenagers arrested for drug and human trafficking.
“The majority of parents or guardians, when we call them, they have no idea their child is in Cochise County committing an international crime,” Dannels said. “Kids should be out playing sports, be home with Mom and Dad, playing with their brothers and friends, instead of in Cochise County committing serious crimes.”
The Arizona Department of Public Safety issued an alert on June 16, briefly describing the trend law enforcement officials have noticed of teenagers being recruited by the cartels, a department press release said. These teens are not only endangering themselves but also the entire community, the release said.
