WASHINGTON – On Friday, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) cosponsored theExtending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act to expand the U.S. customs waters boundary from 12 to 24 nautical miles offshore. This will give U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) enhanced jurisdiction to combat drug and human trafficking at sea.
“Strengthening our border includes keeping our waters secure. I’m cosponsoring this bill to give CBP the authority and tools to stay ahead of transnational criminal organizations and intercept criminal activity before it reaches American shores,” said Senator Gallego.
Expanding the boundary to 24 nautical miles would double the area where federal authorities can act, allowing them to better enforce U.S. laws, intercept traffickers before they reach our shores, and protect American communities.
Senator Gallego co-sponsored the bipartisan bill alongside Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and James Lankford (R-OK).
“Members of our U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations are working day-in and day-out to keep our nation’s shores, beaches and maritime territory safe, conducting critical missions and intercepting dangerous drugs and human traffickers before they reach shore,” said Senator Scott.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers keep our country safe every day by stopping drug and human traffickers trying to come into our country by land, sea, and air. This bipartisan legislation will give Customs and Border Protection officers more authority to stop criminals who are trying to come to our shores and harm our communities, and I will keep working to give law enforcement the tools that they need to protect our communities,” said Senator Hassan.
The Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act:
- Would formally extend the law enforcement authorities of CBP AMO and codify the U.S. Coast Guard maritime authority in U.S. Customs Waters from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles.
- Would update a number of existing laws, and codify the 1999 Presidential Proclamation 7219—The Contiguous Zone of the United States, which formally established the United States’ contiguous zone from the 12 nautical mile limit of the U.S. Customs Waters to 24 nautical miles.