Stop COYOTES Act

The Stop COYOTES Act is a bill that tightens penalties and expands information sharing around two main areas: crimes involving minors and fentanyl-related offenses, plus border-focused information sharing and reporting. It creates a new penalty provision (Sec. 2251B) that adds up to 10 years to the sentence for certain felony offenses involving a minor if the crime occurs near schools, youth facilities, parks, playgrounds, or public housing authority facilities. It also substantially increases fines for fentanyl-related offenses under the Controlled Substances Act, in some cases reaching tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the substance involved. Additionally, the bill requires enhanced information sharing between Homeland Security agencies (ICE and CBP) and state/local law enforcement near the U.S. land border, along with a semiannual reporting obligation to Congress about border-related trafficking, smuggling, and related crime. In short, the bill seeks to deter crimes involving children by proximity-based extra punishment, escalate penalties for fentanyl offenses, and improve interagency information sharing and accountability for border-related crime.