Jan 30, 2020

Agents uncover longest smuggling tunnel ever found at southern border

Photo: Customs and Border Protection

Federal agents have found the "longest illicit cross-border tunnel ever discovered along the Southwest border," Customs and Border Protection announced Wednesday.

Details: The drug-smuggling tunnel stretches for 4,309 feet to connect an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego, per a CBP statement. "It includes an extensive rail/cart system, forced air ventilation, high voltage electrical cables and panels, an elevator at the tunnel entrance, and a complex drainage system," the statement notes.

  • The passageway is about 70 feet underground and is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 2 feet wide.
  • After the tunnel was discovered in late August by CBP and its partners, Mexican law enforcement identified the entrance, and members of the San Diego Tunnel Task Force began mapping it, per the CBP statement.
The sophistication of this tunnel demonstrates the determination and monetary resources of the cartels."
— Statement by DEA's special agent in charge John W. Callery

Why it matters: "While subterranean tunnels are not a new occurrence along the California-Mexico border, the sophistication and length of this particular tunnel demonstrates the time-consuming efforts transnational criminal organizations will undertake to facilitate cross-border smuggling," said Cardell T. Morant, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations San Diego, in the statement.

  • The next longest tunnel in the U.S. was discovered in San Diego in 2014. It was 2,966 feet long.

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What's happening: The number of attempted border crossings is falling, and denial rates are climbing. The very nations most migrants flee from are now the nations where asylum seekers are being sent.

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Why it matters: The New Orleans U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' overturning of a Texas judge's order last month that blocked the plan is a victory for Trump, who's faced legal challenges from several groups and states.

Go deeperArrowJan 9, 2020

Trump admin says it completed 100th mile of southern border wall

Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

The Trump administration announced on Friday it completed the first 100 miles of barrier wall along the southwest border.

What he's saying: From Yuma, Arizona, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf touted the new 30-foot wall and responded to critics who claim it only replaces previously existing fencing. "We have replaced 1970s-era landing mat fence that was easy to compromise, or vehicle barriers that were easy to defeat, with state-of-the-art infrastructure and detection capabilities," Wolf said.

Go deeperArrowJan 11, 2020