U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

89–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

2d Session 

REPORT

2018

115–419 

Calendar No. 724 

BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION 

TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION ALERT 

PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

H.R. 6439 

TO AMEND THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 TO 

ESTABLISH IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY THE 

BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION ALERT 

PROGRAM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

DECEMBER 5, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

JON KYL, Arizona 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

DOUG JONES, Alabama 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

BRIAN P. KENNEDY, Senior Professional Staff Member 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

CHARLES A. MOSKOWITZ, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel 

SUBHASRI RAMANATHAN, Minority Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

Calendar No. 724 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 115–419 

BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION ALERT PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018 

DECEMBER 5, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 6439] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (H.R. 6439) to amend the Homeland 

Security Act of 2002 to establish in the Department of Homeland 

Security the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert 

Program, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that 

the bill, as amended, do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 3 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 4 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 5 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 5 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported ........................... 6 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of H.R. 6439, the Biometric Identification 

Transnational Migration Alert Program Authorization Act of 2018, 

is to authorize the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) within the Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS or the Department). This Act codifies a program 

that already exists within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE–HSI). This Act instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to establish 

2 

1The Implications of the Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border Security and Illegal Immigration Incentives: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018) (statement of Robert E. Perez, Acting Deputy Comm’r , 

Dep’t of Homeland Sec.), available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/TestimonyPerez-2018-09-18.pdf. 2 Int’l Trade Admin., Nat’l Travel & Tourism Office, Fast Facts: United States Travel and 

Tourism Industry (2017), available at http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/ 

Fast_Facts_2017.pdf; see also Lori Robertson, Illegal Immigration Statistics, Fact Check (June 

28, 2018), https://www.factcheck.org/2018/06/illegal-immigration-statistics/. 3See generally U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO–17–170, DHS Has Made Progress in 

Planning for a Biometric Air Exit System and Reporting Overstays, but Challenges Remain 

(2017), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/683036.pdf (‘‘[visa] overstays could pose significant homeland security risks. 5 of the 19 September 11, 2001, hijackers were overstays’’); 

Securing the Border: Biometric Entry and Exit at our Ports of Entry: Roundtable Before the S. 

Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 114th Cong. (2015); see generally U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Human Trafficking and Smuggling, available at https:// 

www.ice.gov/factsheets/human-trafficking (highlighting specific instances where people are trafficked into the U.S. illegally or with legal visas for the purpose of exploitation). 4 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, International Operations (2018), available at 

https://www.ice.gov/international-operations. 5Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Operations Analysis—Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) Project, (2016), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/ 

publications/BITMAP_2016%2009%2027.pdf. 6 Id. 

7Marc R. Rosenblum et al., Cong. Research Serv., R42969, Border Security: Understanding 

Threats at U.S. Borders (Feb 21, 2013), available at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41349.pdf. 8Dep’t of Homeland Sec., supra note 5. 

partnerships with foreign governments for the voluntary collection 

and sharing of biometric and biographic information. It also requires the Secretary to train partner countries’ law enforcement officials to properly collect and disseminate biometric and biographic 

information, and to compare collected information with certain U.S. 

data sources. The goal of BITMAP is to reduce and address national security, border security, and terrorism threats before those 

threats reach U.S. borders. 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The U.S. Government is responsible for ‘‘securing approximately 

7,000 miles of land border, 95,000 miles of shoreline, 328 ports of 

entry, and the associated air and maritime space.’’ 1 Millions of foreign nationals enter the U.S. every year.2 The vast majority of 

those entering the United States are entering legally for business 

and tourism. However, some foreign nationals entering the United 

States pose a potential threat to national security or public safety. 

Human traffickers, drug smugglers, and potential terrorists attempt to enter the U.S.—both legally and illegally.3

One way that the United States works to prevent the entry of potential threat actors is to form partnerships with foreign governments to prevent them from ever reaching the U.S. border.4 The 

BITMAP is an extension of these partnerships and security operations that go beyond U.S. borders. Participating BITMAP countries collect biographical and biometric data from individuals they 

have identified as being a potential threat.5

The data collected through BITMAP is shared with U.S. and 

partner countries’ law enforcement and intelligence community 

members to assess and monitor potential threats.6 These threats 

include human traffickers, drug smugglers, and terrorists who are 

bound for the U.S. border or port of entry.7 This data is used to 

assess migration trends of special interest individuals and assist 

DHS in developing more refined strategies for preventing threats 

from reaching U.S. borders.8 In 2018, more than a dozen countries 

3 

9 Combatting Transnational Gangs Through Information Sharing: Hearing Before the H. 

Comm. on Homeland Sec., Subcomm. on Counterterror and Intelligence, 115th Cong. (2018) 

(statement of Raymond Villanueva, Ass. Dir. of Int’l Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement), available at https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/docum5nts/Speech/2018/ 

180523villanueva.pdf. 10Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Privacy Impact Assessment Update for the Biometric Exit Mobile 

Program (2018), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-piacbp026a-bemobile-june2018.pdf. 11Threats to the Homeland: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental 

Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018) (statement of Elaine C. Duke, Acting Sec’y of Homeland Sec., Dep’t 

of Homeland Sec.) available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony-Duke2017-09-27.pdf. 12See Combatting Transnational Gangs Through Information Sharing, supra note 9. 13 H.R. 6439, 115th Cong. (2018). 

are participating in BITMAP, with additional countries regularly 

joining.9

The 9/11 Commission Report and the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 stressed the importance and value of collecting biometric data at U.S. border entry 

locations to keep the nation safe.10 BITMAP has taken the very 

same principles of the biometric data collection in the U.S. and expanded those capabilities to partner countries.11

The BITMAP program is a vital component of DHS’s ability to 

detect potential threats beyond our borders. H.R. 6439 codifies the 

program to solidify the role BITMAP is already playing in identifying and tracking members of transnational criminal organizations, smugglers, and terrorists.12 To ensure appropriate congressional oversight, the bill requires the DHS Secretary to submit reports and brief the appropriate congressional committees on 

BITMAP’s progress and implementation.13

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Rep. Michael McCaul, (R–TX–10) introduced H.R. 6439 on July 

19, 2018, with Representatives Don Bacon (R–NE–2), John Katko 

(R–NY–24), Debbie Lesko (R–AZ–8), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R–PA– 

8), Clay Higgins (R–LA–3), Mike Rogers (R–AL–3), Peter T. King 

(R–NY–2), Martha McSally (R–AZ–2), William R. Keating (D–MA– 

9), and Daniel M. Donovan Jr. (R–NY–11). Representatives John 

Ratcliffe (R–TX–4), and Mike Gallagher (R–WI–8) joined as cosponsors on July 23, 2018. 

The Act passed the House Committee on Homeland Security on 

July 24, 2018. The Act passed the House on September 4, 2018 by 

a vote of 272 to 119. 

The Act was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs on September 5, 2018. The Committee 

considered H.R. 6439 at a business meeting on September 26, 2018. 

During the business meeting, Senators Doug Jones and Tom Carper offered an amendment that made several changes, including requiring: (1) the program to expunge erroneously-captured U.S. citizen data from the BITMAP database; (2) a Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit; (3) detailed information for the written 

report the Secretary must provide to Congress; and (4) a six-year 

sunset on the authorization. 

Senators Jones and Carper offered a modification to the amendment. The modification made the following changes: (1) created an 

exception in the expungement provision that allows law enforcement to retain U.S. citizen data that is captured for a specific law 

enforcement purpose; (2) consolidated the details required in the 

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written report the Secretary must provide to Congress; (3) requires 

the Secretary to brief the appropriate congressional committees; 

and (4) changed the GAO audit requirement from every two years 

to every three years. The amendment as modified was adopted by 

voice vote with Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford, Enzi, 

Hoeven, McCaskill, Carper, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, Harris, and 

Jones present. 

The Act, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by a voice 

vote en bloc. The Senators present for voice vote were Johnson, 

Portman, Lankford, Enzi, Hoeven, McCaskill, Carper, Heitkamp, 

Peters, Hassan, Harris, and Jones. Senator Kamala Harris asked 

to be recorded as voting ‘‘no’’ for the record. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE ACT, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

This section established that the Act may be cited as the ‘‘Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program Authorization Act of 2018.’’ 

Section 2. Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert 

Program 

Subsection (a) codifies BITMAP. BITMAP is established to identify, track, and reduce national security, terrorist, or border security threats before they reach the U.S. international border. 

The subsection establishes the Secretary’s obligations, acting 

through the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to 

carry out BITMAP. The Secretary must work with the Secretary of 

State, the heads of other Federal agencies, and foreign government 

officials to encourage voluntary sharing of biometric and biographic 

data to help determine which foreign nationals pose a security 

threat. Under this subsection, the Secretary must also provide 

training and equipment to partner countries so that they can voluntarily collect the necessary BITMAP data and learn to collect the 

data properly. Partner countries must also be trained and equipped 

to compare BITMAP data to U.S. databases. The subsection also 

requires the Secretary to ensure that the data collected for 

BITMAP is in compliance with policies established by the Privacy 

Officer. 

The subsection establishes that the Secretary is required to include relevant parts of the Department in BITMAP and seek out 

participation from other Federal agencies. It also establishes the 

requirements for the Secretary to follow when incorporating a new 

partner country into BITMAP. When entering into new BITMAP 

agreements with foreign countries the agreements must include 

specific information, objectives, and training. The new agreements 

must also be made in consultation with the Secretary of State. 

There are congressional reporting requirements for BITMAP. 

Sixty days prior to entering into a new agreement, the Secretary 

must provide the appropriate congressional committees a copy of 

the agreement. 

The subsection also requires that all data collected on U.S. citizens for BITMAP be expunged from all databases unless the information was gathered for law enforcement purposes. 

5 

Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to provide a report to the 

appropriate congressional committees and specifies what information must be provided in that report. The report must be provided 

within the first 180 days of the Act’s enactment and then annually 

for the following five years. 

Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to brief the appropriate congressional committees promptly after providing the reports required by subsection (b). The briefing must specify the individuals 

enrolled in BITMAP who were arrested and of any asylum claims 

made by individuals enrolled in BITMAP. 

Subsection (d) requires GAO to conduct an audit of BITMAP no 

later than six months after the enactment of this Act and every 

three years thereafter. The audit must study the effectiveness of 

BITMAP. 

Subsection (e) sunsets the authorization of the program six years 

after it is enacted. 

Subsection (f) amends the table of contents of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this Act and determined that the Act will 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 

Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s statement that the Act contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, October 3, 2018. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for Department of Homeland Security legislation ordered reported by the Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs on September 26, 2018. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

Department of Homeland Security Legislation 

On September 26, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs ordered two pieces of legislation to be reported: • H.R. 5206, the Office of Biometric Identity Management 

Authorization Act of 2018; and 

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• H.R. 6439, the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program Authorization Act of 2018. 

Each act would mostly codify a current program in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CBO estimates that enacting 

the legislation would not significantly affect spending by DHS. 

Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase 

net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

Neither act contains intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On June 28, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

5206 as reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security 

on June 21, 2018. On August 6, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 6439 as ordered reported by the House Committee 

on Homeland Security on July 24, 2018. CBO’s estimates of the two 

versions for each piece of legislation are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. The 

estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE ACT, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the Act, as 

reported, are shown as follows: (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeland Security Act of 2002.’’ 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as 

follows: 

Sec. 1. * * * 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE IV—BORDER, MARITIME, AND TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

* * * * * * * 

Subtitle D—Immigration Enforcement Functions. 

* * * * * * * 

Sec. 447. Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE IV—BORDER, MARITIME, AND 

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

* * * * * * * 

7 

Subtitle D—Immigration Enforcement Functions 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 447. BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION 

ALERT PROGRAM. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Department a 

program to be known as the Biometric Identification Transnational 

Migration Alert Program (referred to in this section as ‘‘BITMAP’’) 

to address and reduce national security, border security, and terrorist threats before such threats reach the international border of 

the United States. 

(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out BITMAP operations, the Secretary, 

acting through the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shall— 

(1) coordinate, in consultation with the Secretary of State, appropriate representatives of foreign governments, and the heads 

of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, to facilitate the voluntary sharing of biometric and biographic information collected from foreign nationals for the purpose of identifying and 

screening such nationals to identify those nationals who may 

pose a terrorist threat or a threat to national security or border 

security; 

(2) provide capabilities, including training and equipment, to 

partner countries to voluntarily collect biometric and biographic 

identification data from individuals to identify, prevent, detect, 

and interdict high risk individuals identified as national security, border security, or terrorist threats who may attempt to 

enter the United States utilizing illicit pathways; 

(3) provide capabilities, including training and equipment, to 

partner countries to compare foreign data against appropriate 

United States national security, border security, terrorist, immigration, and counter-terrorism data, including— 

(A) the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist 

Screening Database, or successor database; 

(B) the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Next Generation 

Identification database, or successor database; 

(C) the Department of Defense Automated Biometric Identification System (commonly known as ‘‘ABIS’’), or successor database; 

(D) the Department’s Automated Biometric Identification 

System (commonly known as ‘‘IDENT’’), or successor database; and 

(E) any other database, notice, or means that the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies responsible for such databases, notices, or means, designates; 

(4) provide partner countries with training, guidance, and 

best practices recommendations regarding the enrollment of individuals in BITMAP; and 

(5) ensure biometric and biographic identification data collected pursuant to BITMAP are incorporated into appropriate 

United States Government databases, in compliance with the 

policies and procedures established by the Privacy Officer appointed under section 222. 

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(c) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall ensure that BITMAP 

operations include participation from relevant components of the 

Department, and request participation from other Federal agencies, 

as appropriate. 

(d) AGREEMENTS.—Before carrying out BITMAP operations in a 

foreign country that, as of the date of the enactment of this section, 

was not a partner country described in this section, the Secretary, 

in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall enter into agreement or arrangement with the government of such country that sets 

forth program goals for such country, includes training, guidance, 

and best practices recommendations regarding the enrollment of individuals in BITMAP, and outlines such operations in such country, 

including related departmental operations. Such country shall be a 

partner country described in this section pursuant to and for purposes of such agreement or arrangement. 

(e) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 days before 

an agreement with the government of a foreign country to carry out 

BITMAP operations in such foreign country enters into force, the 

Secretary shall provide the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs of the Senate with a copy of the agreement to establish such operations, which shall include— 

(1) the identification of the foreign country with which the 

Secretary intends to enter into such an agreement; 

(2) the location at which such operations will be conducted; 

(3) goals for BITMAP operations in the foreign country; and 

(4) the terms and conditions for Department personnel operating at such location. 

(f) CAPTURED INFORMATION OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS.—The 

Secretary shall ensure that any biometric and biographic identification data of United States citizens that is captured by BITMAP operations is expunged from all databases to which such data was 

uploaded, unless the information is retained for specific law enforcement or intelligence purposes. 

Æ