Two Border Security Bills Introduced
Posted Nov 30, 2001

Readers of the MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom will be interested to learn that on November 1, 2001, legislation known as the Enhanced Border Security Border Act was introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives (House) and the U.S. Senate.

Senators Kennedy and Brownback introduced the bill in the Senate. Senator Kennedy stated that the U.S must strengthen the security of its borders but must also “live up to our history and heritage as a nation of immigrants. Immigration is essential to who we are as Americans…. It makes no sense to enact reforms that severely limit immigration into the United States. ‘Fortress America,’ even if it could be achieved, is an inadequate and ineffective response to the terrorist threat.”

A brief overview of the bill is detailed here :

a) The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are to provide Congress with the information that INS and DOS need in order to screen visa applicants and applicants for admission.

An ’information sharing plan’ and a unified electronic data system are to be developed by the above agencies, to provide access to relevant law enforcement and intelligence data. This information is to be used by officers when deciding whether to admit foreign nationals to the U.S. The plan will also include some limitations for the purpose of protecting privacy rights, protecting the source of the information, and ensuring confidentiality, security, and accuracy, among other concerns.

b) Ports of Entry are to be strengthened by having adequate personnel in place, raising the salary grade of Border Patrol Officers and inspectors, and authorizing the training of these officers and Customs and Immigration officers. Ports of Entry are also to undergo technological improvements.

c) A ‘Perimeter National Security Program’ is to be developed, which would require DOS and INS to study how best to screen travelers to the U.S. The study's aim would also be to determine the viability of working with Canada and Mexico to establish a North American National Security Perimeter.

d) An entry / exit system is to be set up by the INS that would implement the perimeter national security program, including a technology standard for confirming identities. This standard is required by the recently passed USA PATRIOT Act; INS is to implement the use of biometric identifiers with arrival-departure records, visas and other immigration documents. The following other measures are to be implemented also: INS will (i) require machine-readable visas and passports; (ii) compile a database of arrival and departure data; (iii) integrate all security databases in order to assist in making an appropriate decision regarding admissibility; (iv) where the visa requirements are not waived, use visa issuance data from DOS’ database to create the initial record for travelers; (v) establish technological means to strike the correct balance between easing the cross-border movement of persons and commerce and not compromising the safety and security of the U.S.

e) Consular Officers, who screen visa applicants, are to undergo special training and international and other intelligence is to be provided to the Consular Officers.

f) By January 2003, all airlines are to be mandated to transmit their passenger manifests electronically, in advance of the flight's arrival.

g) Foreign students will be more closely monitored after entering the U.S. INS is to conduct periodic reviews of educational institutions allowed to accept foreign students and DOS should conduct similar reviews of the exchange visitor (J-1) program.

h) The 1-year deadline for issuing the new laser border crossing cards (applicable to certain frequent travelers from Mexico and Canada) is to be extended, and funding for machines to read these cards is to be authorized.

i) INS is no longer required to complete the immigration inspection of all passengers on an arriving plane within 45 minutes.

Visa Entry Reform Bill  Senators Dianne Feinstein and Jon Kyle introduced the Visa Entry Reform bill a short time after the above Enhanced Border Security bill.

The provisions are similar to the above, but the Feinstein / Kyle bill has more far-reaching implications. This bill’s objective is to look at ways in which security measures can be improved through better technology in our visa entry system.

INS Commissioner Ziglar was among those who testified before the Technology and Terrorism Subcommittee, of which Senator Feinstein is Chair. Commissioner Ziglar testified that the tragedy on September 11^th was due to a failure in intelligence gathering rather than a failure in the immigration system.

It was stated that if there were improved databases and sufficient access to law enforcement intelligence with which to perform security checks, the INS and the U.S. Department of State then could and would deny entry to those who represent a threat to the nation’s security.

The most important aspect to the Bill was stated to be the creation of a single, comprehensive database to screen visa applicants and other applicants for admission.

The Bill goes further than the Kennedy-Brownback bill in terms of what needs to be submitted and retained in the database.

One requirement would be that all federally-issued identification documents and some state-issued documents contain personal and biometric information about the holder of the document. This measure would apply to citizens as well as non-citizens. There is some concern that this provision would infringe on the right of privacy and lead to the introduction of a National Identification Card.

Student Visas  The bill does not include a provision for freezing the issuance of student visas, but there are to be stricter standards. The reporting and tracking requirements for foreign students are to be increased. Universities would also be subject to stricter deadlines for notifying the INS when students begin and end their studies. Importantly, there is also a mandate that no student visa may be issued to individuals from countries included on the DOS list as state sponsors of terrorism. A waiver does exist if the Secretary of State, the Under Secretary of State, or the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and no other person certifies that the student does not pose a risk to national security.

Other provisions in the bill :

a) Creation of Terrorist Lookout Committees within each U.S. Embassy. This committee is to meet on a monthly basis, with the objective of ensuring that the Embassy has no knowledge of any particular individual who should be included in the visa lookout system on suspicion of possible terrorist activity.

b) Biometric “smart visa“ to be issued to each foreign person seeking to enter the U.S. Visas would be scanned at the Port of Entry.

c) Requirement from January 2002, that each air, land, or sea carrier arriving in the U.S. from abroad provide passenger information in advance of departure to the U.S.

d) INS Form I-20 is not to be issued or provided directly to the foreign student. The U.S. Department of Justice must conduct a background check of each foreign student prior to the issuance of the visa by a DOS Consular Officer.