Lawmakers have previously pushed to label drug cartels as terrorist organizations – Rep.(R-Texas) proposed such legislation in 2012 – but this is the first such proposal sincedeclared a national emergency at the southwest border.

According to the State Department , a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) must be a foreign organization that either practices or has the means to practice terrorism and "threatens the security of United States nationals or the national security of the United States."

"We believe that many drug cartels … fit the [Immigration and Nationality Act's] definition of FTO's," Green and Roy wrote Wednesday.

Roy and Green both entered office last month. Green, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, previously withdrew from consideration to serve as Army secretary in May 2017 after backlash over past statements on LGBT issues and evolution.

There are two kinds of terrorist designations, FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). FTO designations carry stricter consequences — for instance, any member of an FTO is restricted from entering the United States — while SDGT designations only restrict entry to individuals who meet certain criteria.