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This new bill aims to prevent Mexican cartels from recruiting U.S. teens on social media

Border Patrol
Kendal Blust/KJZZ
A Border Patrol vehicle drives in front of the border fence in 2022.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Congressman Juan Ciscomani have introduced bills targeting Mexican cartels’ use of social media to recruit American teens for cross-border crime.

The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to adopt a national strategy to combat cartels on social media. It would also establish a process for social media companies to report the cartels’ recruiting posts to law enforcement.

In a DEA report from 2022 on social media usage in drug trafficking, drug traffickers use platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The drug trafficking advertisements can be posts that are quickly removed, encrypted messages using emojis and 24-hour stories.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills in Tucson last year, the largest seizure in CBP history. Ciscomani said fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death in teenagers in Pima county.

Mark Dannels is the sheriff of Cochise County, overseeing the U.S.-Mexico border. He is a supporter of the bill, named "The Combating Cartels on Social Media Act."

He said the bill will have a positive effect on his county and surrounding areas, as cartels use social media to recruit people near the border into drug and human trafficking.

"They’re partnered up with international criminal organizations," Dannels said. "People forget the cartels are ruthless. And you got young people picking up adults in camouflage in the back of their cars or grandma's car, or whatever car they're driving, and they have no idea who is in that back seat."

Dannels said he is most worried for American teens who could be convinced to engage in cartel activity. He said he has seen teenagers from other counties attempt to smuggle in his area.

He said the bill, supported by Arizona Sheriffs’ Association, the Western States Sheriffs’ Association and the National Sheriffs’ Association, will save lives.

"This is my 41st year in law enforcement, and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it when it comes to smuggling and then using social media as the platform to infect these young lives," Dannels said. "I think it’s so sad."

George Headley is an intern at KJZZ.