Bill aims to speed cross-border freight, intercept illegal drugs

WASHINGTON — New legislation aimed at catching drug smugglers at the border will also speed truck and container inspections into and out of the U.S., according to lawmakers.

The Contraband Awareness Technology Catches Harmful (CATCH) Fentanyl Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday by Reps. Clay Higgins, R-La., and Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection to create a pilot program using “next-generation technology,” including potentially artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to a draft of the bill.

“This common-sense legislation gives CBP expanded use of technology to detect and stop narcotraffickers while streamlining legitimate commercial transit at border ports of entry,” said Higgins in a press release.

The House bill was introduced with co-sponsor support from six Democrats and four Republicans. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

“This legislation would help implement new and updated technology used for scanning cargo and vehicles at our ports of entry to improve fentanyl detection, combat illicit drug smuggling, and better protect Texans from this scourge,” Cornyn said.

The American Trucking Associations weighed in on the issue in support of the measure.

“The tidal wave of fentanyl surging across our southern border is causing devastation in every corner of our country,” said ATA Chief Advocacy and Public Affairs Officer Ed Gilroy, in a statement.

“The CATCH Fentanyl Act would strike a major blow against fentanyl traffickers by empowering CBP to pioneer and adopt the cutting-edge technology it needs at border crossings to identify illicit substances more effectively while processing vehicles and freight more efficiently. ATA is committed to addressing the drug crisis at our border, and we commend Representatives Higgins and Magaziner for their leadership on this bipartisan legislation, which will thwart evolving threats and help save countless lives.”

In implementing the pilot projects, a CBP “Innovation Team” would test and collect data from “nonintrusive inspection technology” – technology that allows cargo inspections without having to open trailers and containers and unload the freight – that can be deployed at land ports of entry, according to the bill.

The inspection equipment would be based on at least one of five technology categories: AI, machine learning, high-performance computing, quantum sensing (precise measuring at the molecular level) and other emerging technologies.

The legislation requires a congressional report on the pilot program three years after the bill’s enactment, including an analysis of the effectiveness of technology enhancements tested and the ability to use the technologies at all land-border ports.

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• Tariffs won’t stop soaring cross-border trade, experts say
• Trucking braces for immigration crackdowns

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