By Matthew Holloway |

On Monday, the Subterranean Border Defense Act, jointly reintroduced by Reps. Eli Crane (R-AZ) and Lou Correa (D-CA) was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and now moves to the Senate. The bipartisan bill received near-unanimous support with 402 votes in favor and one against. The one vote against came from Michigan Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

“Passage of this bill is a massive win for our security. With border crossings thankfully going down since January, it’s safe to assume this will drive threats underneath our border through these tunnels. This legislation will ensure Congress has sufficient knowledge and oversight in regard to this dynamic threat,” Rep. Crane said in a statement.

In a post to X, Crane took note of Tlaib’s dissenting vote writing, “I thought for sure everyone was gonna vote yes on my bill this evening. 402-1 is still pretty solid though.”

Commenting during House proceedings, Crane explained the necessity of the bill by telling Congress, “Since 1990, officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the border, with an 80% increase in tunnel activity since 2008,” according to CSPAN. He added, “As transnational criminal organizations continue to grow in both size and sophistication, illicit cross-border tunnels along the southwest border of the United States represent a significant and growing threat to national security.”

According to Fox News, Tlaib’s office did not respond to requests for comment on her lone vote against the measure, which fellow Democrat Rep. Correa called “an important step in the right direction.”

Crane thanked members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for their support saying, “Effective border security is created by overlapping deterrents, and I’m grateful to Chairman Green, Rep. Correa, and my colleagues for supporting this bill.”

In his own statement on the bill, Correa said, “It’s clear that human traffickers and illegal drug smugglers have developed dynamic ways to evade capture—making it urgent and necessary that we adapt to defend against their attempts to breach our border.” He added, “I’m honored to be leading this bipartisan effort, alongside Rep. Crane, to help improve our efforts to counter these tunnels and those who rely on them, and protect the lives of those on both sides of our border.”

The legislation, expected to be taken up by the Senate quickly, was co-sponsored by Representatives Biggs (R-AZ), Duncan (R-SC), Gosar (R-AZ), Guest (R-TX), Higgins (R-LA), Luttrell (R-TX), McCaul (R-TX), and Ogles (R-TN).

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.