The CARTEL Act of 2025 would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to publicly publish, on a Department of Homeland Security website, a broad set of operational statistics every month. The data cover border encounters, nationalities, gangAffiliations, drug seizures, and matters related to individuals in the terrorist screening database (TSDB) and those affiliated with transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The publication also breaks out specifics on repeat crossings, apprehensions, and whether individuals in these categories were released into the United States or removed. In addition, the bill tasks the Homeland Security Secretary with delivering an annual (and initially a 90-day) Congress-facing assessment of foreign terrorist organizations and TCOs attempting to move members or affiliates into the United States via southern, northern, or maritime borders, using the definition of a foreign terrorist organization from the Immigration and Nationality Act. The bill, introduced in the House and referred to the Homeland Security Committee, is focused on transparency and oversight—giving lawmakers and the public a clearer, monthly snapshot of enforcement and border-security demographics, as well as a periodic written assessment of the threat posed by foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal networks.
Key Points
- 1Monthly public reporting by CBP: The Commissioner must publish on a DHS website the previous month’s statistics on alien encounters, nationalities, gang-affiliated encounters, drug seizures, TSDB-related encounters and nationalities, arrests of criminal aliens, known gotaways, encounters with deceased aliens, and encounters affiliated with TCOs, among other related data.
- 2Specific TSDB and TCO detail: The publication must include (1) the total TSDB individuals who repeatedly tried to cross unlawfully, (2) TSDB individuals who were apprehended and whether they were released or removed, (3) individuals affiliated with TCOs who repeatedly tried to cross unlawfully, and (4) TCO-affiliated individuals who were apprehended and whether they were released or removed.
- 3Timetable for publication: The monthly data must be posted by the seventh day of each month, starting with the second full month after enactment.
- 4Definition of key terms: The bill uses the term “foreign terrorist organization” as defined in section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189).
- 5Congressional reporting requirement: Within 90 days of enactment and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security must brief the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs with an assessment of foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations attempting to move members or affiliates into the U.S. via border routes.
- 6Purpose and scope: The act targets transparency around cartel- and terrorist-related border activity, facilitating oversight and public scrutiny of enforcement trends and potential security threats at the nation’s borders.