Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Oklahoma Republican Rep. Kevin Hern will introduce legislation Thursday that would tax the cartels’ international money transfers.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the bill, which is titled the Withholding Illegal Revenue Entering Drug Markets (WIRED) Act. The legislation would specifically impose a 10 percent fee on remittances out of the U.S., with the plan of penalizing illegal activity, like drug and human smuggling.
The funds raised through the remittance fees will go towards U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help secure the border.
“We cannot stand idly by as illegal immigrants and drug cartels profit from breaking our nation’s laws,” Vance told the Caller before introducing the bill. “This legislation is a commonsense solution to disincentivize illegal immigration and reduce the cartels’ financial power.”
READ THE LEGISLATION HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“Cartels are overjoyed at the Democrats’ border crisis. They enjoy operational control of our southern border, they traffic children and they are killing tens of thousands of Americans every year with fentanyl. As the crisis at our border gets more serious every day, Democrats sit on their hands and ignore it,” Hern said.
“Millions of Americans are in danger. We need every tool in our arsenal to combat the cartels and regain control of our border. This new remittance fee is a financial weapon we can use to target illicit activity funneling money from the US to the cartels while simultaneously supporting our agents down at the border. It’s a small step, but it brings us closer to securing the border and deterring illegal activity,” he added.
The bill is being supported by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and NumbersUSA.