HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger’s legislation to combat trafficking and smuggling networks in Central America and strengthen border security in the United States was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Monday, according to a press release.

The bipartisan legislation was led by Spanberger, who represents Virginia’s Seventh District as a Democrat, and Texas’s 23rd District Republican Will Hurd.

The release stated the Trafficking and Smuggling Intelligence Act will prioritize the efforts to combating drug trafficking, human trafficking and human smuggling networks in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

Understanding how the criminal organizations in those regions contribute to the security and humanitarian crisis at the United States-Mexico border was another reason the legislation was signed into law.

“To tackle the security and humanitarian challenges at our southern border, we need to understand the root causes of instability, illegal migration, increased levels of asylum seekers, and senseless violence in Mexico and the Northern Triangle,” said Spanberger.

Spanberger and Hurd were case officers in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before serving as members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“As two former intelligence officers, Congressman Hurd and I recognize how the reprehensible activities of criminal organizations in this region create a devastating ripple effect that threatens our national security and exacerbates the ongoing humanitarian crisis along the U.S-Mexico border. At its core, our bipartisan legislation will deploy the expertise of the intelligence community to keep the American people safe and secure,” she said.

Spanberger thanked Hurd for his work on the bill and Trump for signing the bill into law.

“My philosophy is simple and has remained the same: the only way we get big things done in Congress is by working together. My bipartisan effort with Representative Spanberger to stop drug smugglers exacerbating our border crisis and putting innocent lives at risk is the perfect example of that,” said Hurd.

Spanberger spoke on the impacts Central American trafficking and smuggling have on the safety and health of American communities in July 2019 on the floor of the U.S. House.

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