'Too far': Conservatives alarmed over new Trump policy

President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that his calls for tougher border security are about stemming the flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl into the United States. But one new policy he's implementing could end up making the problem even worse.

That's according to a Wednesday article in the Daily Caller — a prominent conservative news outlet — which reported that Trump's plan to stop enforcing a key section of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is worrying many in the law enforcement community. The U.S. Treasury Department officially announced the rule change last month, which may end up helping drug cartels operating in the United States.

The CTA's Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement was put in place during the late part of former President Joe Biden's administration and just went into effect in January, and is aimed at preventing the financing of illegal activity. This includes "money laundering, the financing of terrorism, proliferation financing, serious tax fraud, human and drug trafficking, counterfeiting, piracy, securities fraud, financial fraud, and acts of foreign corruption."

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Supporters of the decision to not enforce BOI requirement say that the rule was cumbersome for small businesses. The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) argued that having to follow through on those requirements out them at risk of cyberattacks that could compromise their sensitive personal information, and Trump called the rule an "economic menace" in a Truth Social post.

However, law enforcement professionals disagree, and say that the CTA and its BOI reporting section are essential for stopping cartels operating shell companies designed to facilitate money laundering. San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan — who is president of the National District Attorneys' Association (NDAA), told the Daily Caller that she's personally aware of cartels in her jurisdiction running jewelry stores, real estate investment offices and law offices, among other front businesses. She added that cartels will often strong-arm U.S. citizens into putting their names on these ventures to avoid being tied to the companies themselves.

"They are going to try to operate by influencing domestic American citizens through maybe threats to their families in Mexico or through money promises," she said.

Additionally, the American Conservative Union's (ACU) Frank Russo Jr., who leads the ACU's Center for Combating Human Trafficking, said that it was "quite easy" for criminals to set up a shell company in the U.S. And as NDAA's former director of government and legislative affairs, Russo personally lobbied for the passage of the CTA, saying it was an important tool in the fight against the illicit drug trade.

"This is what makes fentanyl so scary, aside from the fact that it’s so dangerous, is that it is truly a multinational, corporate globalist effort to get drugs into our communities," Russo said. “Unfortunately, in our eyes, [the Trump administration] went a little too far in exempting all the domestic companies, because that is where, unfortunately, a lot of the criminal actors are hiding."

Click here to read the Daily Caller's full article.