I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2083 

To secure smuggling routes on the U.S.-Mexico border, better prevent the 

smuggling of narcotics and weapons across the border, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2009 

Mr. HUNTER (for himself, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. MARCHANT, 

Mr. ROYCE, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. 

CALVERT, Mr. AKIN, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, and Mr. 

FRANKS of Arizona) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 

Homeland Security and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To secure smuggling routes on the U.S.-Mexico border, better 

prevent the smuggling of narcotics and weapons across 

the border, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Sovereignty 

5 and Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TWO-LAYERED REINFORCED FENCING ALONG THE 

2 SOUTHWEST BORDER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Illegal Immi4 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

5 (Public Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1103 note) is amended 

6 by amending subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) TWO-LAYERED REINFORCED FENC9 ING.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

11 subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security shall construct two layers of rein13 forced fencing along not fewer than 350 

14 miles of the southwest border where such 

15 fencing would be most practical and effec16 tive and provide for the installation of re17 lated security infrastructure to gain oper18 ational control of the southwest border. 

19 ‘‘(ii) BORDER PATROL ACCESS

20 ROAD.—The two-layered reinforced fencing 

21 required under clause (i) shall be separated 

22 by a Border Patrol access road. 

23 ‘‘(iii) CONSTRUCTION DEADLINE.— 

24 The Secretary shall ensure the completion 

25 of the construction of such two-layered re26 inforced fencing (including the installation 


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1 of such related security infrastructure) re2 quired under clause (i) and the construc3 tion of the Border Patrol access road re4 quired under clause (ii) by not later than 

5 the date that is one year after the date of 

6 the enactment of this subparagraph. 

7 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION ON PREEXISTING

8 FENCING TO SATISFY MILEAGE REQUIRE9 MENT.—In carrying out clause (i), the Sec10 retary may not consider fencing along the 

11 southwest border in existence on April 1, 

12 2009, for purposes of satisfying the mile13 age requirement under such clause.’’. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

16 necessary to carry out the amendment made by subsection 

17 (a). 

18 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AUTHOR19 ITY WITH REGARD TO DRUG OFFENSES. 

20 The Department of Homeland Security shall have full 

21 authority, concurrent with that of the Department of Jus22 tice, to investigate any criminal violation of the Controlled 

23 Substances Act or the Controlled Substances Import and 

24 Export Act. 


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1 SEC. 4. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE FOR FIREARMS 

2 SMUGGLING. 

3 (a) SMUGGLING INTO THE UNITED STATES.—Sec4 tion 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(q) Whoever, in relation to a crime of violence (as 

7 defined in subsection (c)(3)) or a drug trafficking crime 

8 (as defined in subsection (c)(2)), smuggles or fraudulently 

9 or knowingly imports or brings into the United States a 

10 firearm, or attempts to do so, contrary to any law or regu11 lation of the United States shall be fined under this title, 

12 imprisoned not less than 15 years, or both.’’. 

13 (b) SMUGGLING OUT OF THE UNITED STATES.—Sec14 tion 554(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

15 by inserting ‘‘, but if the merchandise, article, or object 

16 is a firearm (as defined in section 921) and the conduct 

17 described in this subsection occurs in relation to a crime 

18 of violence (as defined in section 924(c)(3)) or a drug traf19 ficking crime (as defined in section 924(c)(2)), the term 

20 of imprisonment for the offense shall be not less than 15 

21 years’’ after ‘‘or both’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE CRIMINAL 

2 ALIEN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SCAAP) FUND3 ING. 

4 Section 241(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

5 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(7) A State (or a political subdivision of a 

8 State) shall not be eligible to enter into a contrac9 tual arrangement under paragraph (1) if the State 

10 (or political subdivision)— 

11 ‘‘(A) has in effect any law, policy, or proce12 dure in contravention of subsection (a) or (b) of 

13 section 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

14 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

15 U.S.C. 1373); or 

16 ‘‘(B) prohibits State or local law enforce17 ment officials from gathering information re18 garding the citizenship or immigration status, 

19 lawful or unlawful, of any individual.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF INADMISSIBLE ARRIVING 

21 ALIENS. 

22 Section 235(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 

24 clauses (i) through (iii) and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an immigration 

26 officer determines that an alien (other 


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1 than an alien described in subparagraph 

2 (F)) who is arriving in the United States, 

3 or who has not been admitted or paroled 

4 into the United States and has not been 

5 physically present in the United States 

6 continuously for the 3-year period imme7 diately prior to the date of the determina8 tion of inadmissibility under this para9 graph, is inadmissible under section 

10 212(a)(6)(C) or 212(a)(7), the officer shall 

11 order the alien removed from the United 

12 States without further hearing or review, 

13 unless— 

14 ‘‘(I) the alien has been charged 

15 with a crime; or 

16 ‘‘(II) the alien indicates an inten17 tion to apply for asylum under section 

18 208 or a fear of persecution and the 

19 officer determines that the alien has 

20 been physically present in the United 

21 States for less than 1 year. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CLAIMS FOR ASYLUM.—If an im23 migration officer determines that an alien 

24 (other than an alien described in subpara25 graph (F)) who is arriving in the United 


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1 States, or who has not been admitted or 

2 paroled into the United States and has not 

3 been physically present in the United 

4 States continuously for the 3-year period 

5 immediately prior to the date of the deter6 mination of inadmissibility under this 

7 paragraph, is inadmissible under section 

8 212(a)(6)(C) or 212(a)(7), and the alien 

9 indicates either an intention to apply for 

10 asylum under section 208 or a fear of per11 secution, the officer shall refer the alien 

12 for an interview by an asylum officer under 

13 subparagraph (B) if the officer determines 

14 that the alien has been physically present 

15 in the United States for less than 1 year.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF CRIMINAL ALIENS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 238 of the Immigration 

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1228) is amended— 

19 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

20 follows: ‘‘EXPEDITED REMOVAL OF CRIMINAL

21 ALIENS’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (a), by amending the sub23 section heading to read as follows: ‘‘EXPEDITED RE24 MOVAL FROM CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (b), by amending the sub2 section heading to read as follows: ‘‘REMOVAL OF

3 CRIMINAL ALIENS’’; 

4 (4) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs 

5 (1) and (2) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, in the 

7 case of an alien described in paragraph (2), deter8 mine the deportability of such alien and issue an 

9 order of removal pursuant to the procedures set 

10 forth in this subsection or section 240. 

11 ‘‘(2) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is de12 scribed in this paragraph if the alien, whether or not 

13 admitted into the United States, was convicted of 

14 any criminal offense described in subparagraph 

15 (A)(iii), (C), or (D) of section 237(a)(2).’’; 

16 (5) in the first subsection (c) (relating to pre17 sumption of deportability), by striking ‘‘convicted of 

18 an aggravated felony’’ and inserting ‘‘described in 

19 paragraph (b)(2)’’; 

20 (6) by redesignating the second subsection (c) 

21 (relating to judicial removal) as subsection (d); and 

22 (7) in subsection (d)(5) (as so redesignated), by 

23 striking ‘‘, who is deportable under this Act,’’. 

24 (b) LIMIT ON INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Section 

25 242(f)(2) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(f)(2)) is amended 


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1 by inserting ‘‘or stay, whether temporarily or otherwise,’’ 

2 after ‘‘enjoin’’. 

3 SEC. 8. MANDATORY EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION 

4 VERIFICATION. 

5 (a) MAKING BASIC PILOT PROGRAM PERMANENT.— 

6 Section 401(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Im7 migrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) 

8 is amended by adding before the period at the end of the 

9 last sentence the following ‘‘, except that the basic pilot 

10 program described in section 403(a) shall be a permanent 

11 program’’. 

12 (b) MANDATORY USE OF E-VERIFY SYSTEM.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

14 and (3), every person or other entity that hires one 

15 or more individuals for employment in the United 

16 States shall verify through the E-Verify program, es17 tablished as the basic pilot program by section 

18 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi19 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Pub20 lic Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1324a note), that each 

21 such individual is authorized to work in the United 

22 States. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

23 ensure that verification by means of a toll-free tele24 phone line is an available option in complying with 

25 the preceding sentence. 


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1 (2) SELECT ENTITIES REQUIRED TO USE E2 VERIFY PROGRAM IMMEDIATELY.—The following en3 tities must satisfy the requirement in paragraph (1) 

4 by not later than one year after the date of the en5 actment of this Act: 

6 (A) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Each depart7 ment and agency of the Federal Government. 

8 (B) FEDERAL CONTRACTORS.—A con9 tractor that— 

10 (i) has entered into a contract with 

11 the Federal Government to which section 

12 2(b)(1) of the Service Contract Act of 

13 1965 (41 U.S.C. 351(b)(1)) applies, and 

14 any subcontractor under such contract; or 

15 (ii) has entered into a contract ex16 empted from the application of such Act by 

17 section 6 of such Act (41 U.S.C. 356), and 

18 any subcontractor under such contract; 

19 and 

20 (C) LARGE EMPLOYERS.—An employer 

21 that employs more than 250 individuals in the 

22 United States. 

23 (3) PHASING-IN FOR OTHER EMPLOYERS.— 

24 (A) 2 YEARS FOR EMPLOYERS OF 100 OR

25 MORE.—Entities that employ 100 or more indiVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:03 Apr 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2083.IH H2083

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1 viduals in the United States must satisfy the 

2 requirement in paragraph (1) by not later than 

3 two years after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 (B) 3 YEARS FOR EMPLOYERS WITH 30 OR

6 MORE EMPLOYEES.—All entities that employ 30 

7 or more individuals in the United States must 

8 satisfy the requirement in paragraph (1) by not 

9 later than three years after the date of the en10 actment of this Act. 

11 (C) 4 YEARS FOR ALL EMPLOYERS.—All 

12 entities that employ one or more individuals in 

13 the United States must satisfy the requirement 

14 in paragraph (1) by not later than four years 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (4) VERIFYING EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

17 OF CURRENT EMPLOYEES.—Every person or other 

18 entity that employs one or more persons in the 

19 United States shall verify through the E-Verify pro20 gram by not later than four years after the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act that each employee is au22 thorized to work in the United States. 

23 (5) DEFENSE.—An employer who has complied 

24 with the requirements in paragraphs (1) and (4) 


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1 shall not be liable for hiring an unauthorized alien, 

2 if— 

3 (A) such hiring occurred due to an error in 

4 the E-Verify program that was unknown to the 

5 employer at the time of such hiring; and 

6 (B) the employer terminates the employ7 ment of the alien upon being informed of the 

8 error. 

9 (6) SANCTIONS FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—The 

10 failure of an employer to comply with the require11 ments in paragraphs (1) or (4) shall— 

12 (A) be treated as a violation of section 

13 274A(a)(1)(B) with respect to each offense; and 

14 (B) create a rebuttable presumption that 

15 the employer has violated section 

16 274A(a)(1)(A). 

17 (7) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION OF EMPLOYERS

18 NOT IMMEDIATELY SUBJECT TO REQUIREMENT.— 

19 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as pre20 venting a person or other entity that is not imme21 diately subject to the requirement of paragraph (1) 

22 pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) from voluntarily 

23 using the E-Verify program to verify the employ24 ment authorization of new hires or current employ25 ees. 


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1 (8) STATE INTERFERENCE.—No State may 

2 prohibit a person or other entity from using the E3 verify program to verify the employment authoriza4 tion of new hires or current employees. 

Æ 


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