Environmental red tape stalls border agents trying to fill drug-smuggler tunnelsFox News, May 25, 2018, Alex Pappas
Environmental red tape is causing “long delays†for border agents as they try to fill tunnels used to smuggle people and dangerous drugs into the U.S. from Mexico, according to border officials and Republican lawmakers who have discussed the problem with agents.
Frustrated agents complain the lengthy federal review process can stall critical tunnel-plugging efforts for months after passageways are first discovered.
The tunnels are being used to move people, illegal drugs and even fake pharmaceuticals. But regulations stemming from laws like the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are putting "remediation" on hold.
“I heard firsthand accounts from our Border Patrol agents that environmental red tape is hindering their ability to secure the border,†Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, told Fox News this week.
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