Washington, D.C. — Senator Joni Ernst says a new federal crime should be established to punish people caught working as Mexican cartel scouts along the southern border.
Ernst was among a group of Republican senators who visited the border late last week.
Ernst says under her proposal, that spotter and others like him would face up to 10 years in prison if caught. Under current federal law, the penalty for those convicted of what’s called immigration-related entrepreneurship can be sentenced to up to five years in prison. Ernst says the coyotes who are being paid to guide migrants across the border are physically and sexually abusing women and girls.
Ernst made her comments yesterday during a news conference in Washington, D.C.
