2024 House Resolution 234

Whereas, The land and maritime borders of the United States present unique challenges and threats to the national security of the country. Michigan is on the forefront of this challenge as it maintains hundreds of miles of our international border; and

Whereas, Drug cartels engage in numerous illicit activities, including human smuggling, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, money laundering, drug smuggling, extortion, and kidnapping. These activities have breached the borders of the United States and our great state; and

Whereas, As an example of the heinous activities of drug cartels, in March 2023, south of the Texas border, one drug cartel claimed responsibility for the armed abduction and killing of American citizens who were traveling in Mexico; and

Whereas, Drug cartels have been responsible for the illegal importation and distribution of wholesale amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and other illicit substances in the United States. As the quantity of drugs smuggled into the United States has increased, so too has the number of drug-related overdoses and deaths in this country; and

Whereas, During federal fiscal year 2023, United States Customs and Border Protection seized 27,000 pounds of fentanyl and millions of fentanyl pills, enough to kill every American. However, some Drug Enforcement Administration officials estimate that this amount represents a mere 10 to 15 percent of the fentanyl actually sent across the border into the United States each year; and

Whereas, Illicit drugs from foreign drug cartels have also made their appearance in Michigan. In March 2023, four kilograms of fentanyl linked to a well-known foreign drug cartel were uncovered during a traffic stop near the Village of Paw Paw. Criminal convictions have been obtained in Michigan against individuals attempting to distribute illicit drugs that were transported to our great state from foreign countries. In 2023, a string of home invasions and robberies in Oakland County were linked to transnational criminal organizations with origins in South America. During federal fiscal year 2023, the Detroit Field Office of United States Customs and Border Protection seized 7,700 pounds of drugs; and

Whereas, Drug cartels engage in the practice of human smuggling, which poses a substantial threat to the United States by creating conduits that allow contraband and persons seeking to harm the United States to clandestinely enter this country; and

Whereas, During federal fiscal year 2023, United States Border Patrol encountered 172 individuals on the terrorist watchlist between ports of entry, which is nearly double the number encountered in the previous fiscal year and more than the past six fiscal years combined; and

Whereas, Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the United States Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, to designate an organization as a foreign terrorist organization when certain criteria are met; and

Whereas, Drug cartels meet the criteria to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations, given that they are foreign in nature, they engage in or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorism, and they threaten the security, foreign relations, and economic interests of the United States; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the United States Secretary of State to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Secretary of State, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.