Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins took to Twitter to emphasize the importance of stopping Mexican cartels to the security of the Southern Border, saying legislation he helped sponsor will help improve those efforts.
"Protecting our sovereignty at the southern border requires defeating the Mexican cartels," he wrote July 12, sharing a link to a report by Roll Call on a bipartisan measure led by Higgins and California Democrat Lou Correa to fight human trafficking at the border. Higgins and Correa are both part of the Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, and the bill is the first measure the two have co-authored this session, Roll Call reported.
The new bill would mandate the creation of special units designed to investigate and combat human trafficking, calling for better training for foreign prosecutors, increased U.S participation in international anti-human trafficking efforts, especially the U.S-Mexico Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiative, and the spread of information to decrease the movement of migrants to the southern border, according to a release on Higgins' website.
Rep Clay Higgins's tweet
| https://twitter.com/RepClayHiggins/status/1679130275320561675
Higgins argued that promoting better communication and cooperation with Mexico on human trafficking is a “strategic maneuver” in fighting cartels, and Correa added that he sees the legislation as addressing migration at its “root causes” which will save lives.
"By expanding American partnership with authorities in Mexico, Central America, and South America — and supporting their efforts to investigate and prosecute human smugglers and traffickers targeting children and families — we will make meaningful strides towards disrupting human trafficking operations at their roots and keeping our nation’s border safe, secure, and humane," Correa said in the release.
According to the Committee on Homeland Security website, Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee is tasked with overseeing the operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Their areas of focus include domestic and international border security, Homeland Security policies, resource distribution and staffing, and the supervision of various operations related to Border security, the release said.
