I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1320 

To secure the borders of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2005 

Mr. REYES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, 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 the borders of the United States, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Secure Borders Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—SECURING OUR BORDERS 

Subtitle A—Infrastructure Enhancements 
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Sec. 101. Establishment of Land Border Infrastructure Improvement Fund. 

Sec. 102. Requiring a vulnerability assessment of land ports of entry. 

Sec. 103. Enhancing SENTRI, FAST, and NEXUS preenrollment programs. 

Subtitle B—Enhancing Border Monitoring Technology 

Sec. 111. Deployment of surveillance systems along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Sec. 112. Deployment of surveillance systems along the US-Canadian border. 

Sec. 113. Level of K–9 units. 

Sec. 114. Deployment of radiation portal monitors on the southern border. 

Subtitle C—Ensuring Sufficient Well-Trained Personnel at Our Borders 

Sec. 121. Double the number of CBP personnel. 

Sec. 122. Assessing staffing needs at our borders. 

Sec. 123. Additional and continuous training for inspectors. 

Sec. 124. Requiring report on the ‘‘one face at the border initiative’’. 

Subtitle D—Establishing a Comprehensive Border Security Strategy 

Sec. 131. Land border security strategy. 

Sec. 132. Improved Information Sharing. 

Sec. 133. Creation of northern and southern border coordinators. 

Sec. 134. Smart Border Accord implementation. 

Sec. 135. Sense of Congress on the period of admission for border crossing card 

holders. 

Subtitle E—Enhancing Border Security Programs 

Sec. 141. Creating a more effective entry-exit system. 

Sec. 142. Transportation worker identification card. 

Sec. 143. Standards and verification procedures for the security of intermodal 

cargo containers. 

Sec. 144. Sense of Congress on the need for additional staff for the United 

States Consulate-General in Mexico. 

Subtitle F—Securing Our Tribal and Federal Lands and Territories 

Sec. 151. Office of Tribal Security. 

Sec. 152. Transfer of ‘‘shadow wolves’’ from CPB to ICE. 

Sec. 153. DHS and DOI coordination on border security; provision of temporary authority to DHS to transfer funds. 

TITLE II—SECURING THE INTERIOR; TOOLS FOR BORDER 

SECURITY 

Subtitle A—Increase in Staff for ICE 

Sec. 201. ICE strategy and staffing assessment. 

Subtitle B—Increase in Detention Space 

Sec. 211. Sense of Congress regarding processing of criminal aliens while incarcerated. 

Sec. 212. Sense of Congress regarding increase in prosecutors and immigration 

judges. 

Subtitle C—Enhancing Law Enforcement Access to Informants 
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Sec. 221. New class of nonimmigrant aliens. 

Sec. 222. Adjustment of status of nonimmigrant to that of person admitted for 

permanent residence. 

Subtitle D—Increased Penalties for Smuggling 

Sec. 231. Combating aggravated alien smuggling. 

Sec. 232. Increased criminal sentences and fines for alien smuggling. 

Sec. 233. Increased penalty for smuggling. 

TITLE III—BEYOND OUR BORDERS (INTERNATIONAL) 

Subtitle A—Coordinating DHS Mission Overseas 

Sec. 301. Office of International Affairs; effective and efficient management 

and coordination of international assignments. 

Sec. 302. Creation of an Office of Overseas Service. 

Subtitle B—Implementing a More Effective Visa Security Program 

Sec. 311. Implementing a more effective visa security program. 

Subtitle C—Securing the Visa Waiver Program 

Sec. 321. Visa waiver program passenger screening; biographical checks. 

Sec. 322. Defining security Responsibilities of the Visa Waiver Program Office. 

Sec. 323. Additional and continuous training for inspectors in fraud and imposter detection. 

Sec. 324. Authorization of funds. 

TITLE IV—SECURING THE IMMIGRATION BENEFITS PROCESS 

Sec. 401. Immigration Ombudsman. 

Sec. 402. CIS workflow, technology, and staffing assessment. 

Sec. 403. Study on biometrics. 

Sec. 404. Digitizing immigration functions. 

Sec. 405. Study on digitizing immigration benefit applications. 

1 TITLE I—SECURING OUR 

2 BORDERS 

3 Subtitle A—Infrastructure 

4 Enhancements 

5 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF LAND BORDER INFRASTRUC6 TURE IMPROVEMENT FUND. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the general 

8 fund of the Treasury a separate account which shall be 

9 known as the ‘‘Land Border Infrastructure Improvement 
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1 Fund’’. Amounts deposited in such fund shall remain 

2 available to the Secretary of Homeland Security until ex3 pended, subject to the provisions of appropriations Acts, 

4 to carry out infrastructure and technology improvement 

5 projects at our nation’s ports of entry, as assessed in sec6 tion 102, to reduce and prevent the nation’s land border 

7 vulnerability to terrorist attack, and penetration by terror8 ists and criminals, while effectively facilitating the move9 ment of goods, services, and legitimate travelers. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 to carry 

12 out the projects described in subsection (c). 

13 (c) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—The Secretary of Home14 land Security may carry out infrastructure and technology 

15 improvement projects recommended in the report sub16 mitted under section 102 in order to reduce the vulner17 ability of ports of entry. 

18 SEC. 102. REQUIRING A VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF 

19 LAND PORTS OF ENTRY. 

20 (a) INITIAL ASSESSMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security shall conduct an assessment of the vulner23 ability of each United States land port of entry to 

24 penetration by terrorists and criminals or terrorist 

25 attack. In carrying out assessments under this para-
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1 graph, the Secretary shall categorize the vulner2 ability of each port of entry as ‘‘high’’, ‘‘medium’’, 

3 or ‘‘low’’ and shall prioritize the vulnerability of each 

4 port of entry within each such category. In con5 ducting the assessment, the Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security shall consult with appropriate State, local, 

7 and private sector representatives. 

8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congres11 sional committees (as that term is defined in section 

12 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

13 101)) a report that contains— 

14 (A) the results of the assessment con15 ducted under paragraph (1); 

16 (B) with respect to each port of entry cat17 egorized under paragraph (1) as either a 

18 ‘‘high’’ or ‘‘medium’’ vulnerability port of entry, 

19 descriptions of— 

20 (i) infrastructure and technology im21 provement projects required for the port of 

22 entry in order to reduce its vulnerability; 

23 and 

24 (ii) the resources required to make 

25 such improvements; and 
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1 (C) a description of how the funds will be 

2 used to implement technology and infrastruc3 ture improvement projects. 

4 (b) FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS.—The Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall conduct follow-up assessments of 

6 land border ports of entry every 2 years and shall submit 

7 such reports to the appropriate congressional committees 

8 (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 

9 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)). 

10 SEC. 103. ENHANCING SENTRI, FAST, AND NEXUS 

11 PREENROLLMENT PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con13 gress that preenrollment programs should be expanded to 

14 all major ports of entry because these programs assist our 

15 frontline officers in the fight against terrorism. These pro16 grams allow inspectors to focus more closely on unknown 

17 travelers by subjecting participants to in depth back18 ground and watch list checks. 

19 (b) PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security shall make permanent pre-enrollment pro22 grams that subject participants who are aliens, and 

23 citizens of the United States, to criminal and watch 

24 list screenings and fingerprint checks prior to enroll-
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1 ing in order to gain expedited inspections at ports 

2 of entry. 

3 (2) SPECIFIC PROGRAMS.—The programs de4 scribed in paragraph (1) shall include, at a min5 imum, the following: 

6 (A) The Free and Secure Trade, or 

7 ‘‘FAST’’, program authorized under subpart B 

8 of title IV of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C 

9 1411 et seq). 

10 (B) The Secure Electronic Network for 

11 Travelers Rapid Inspection, or ‘‘SENTRI’’, pro12 gram authorized under section 286(q) of the 

13 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1356(q)). 

15 (C) The ‘‘NEXUS’’ program authorized 

16 under section 286(q) of the Immigration and 

17 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(q)). 

18 (D) Successor programs to the programs 

19 described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS NECESSARY TO

21 BUILD ADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE TO RENDER PRO22 GRAMS EFFECTIVE.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated such funds as may be necessary to improve infra24 structure to enhance access to pre-enrollment lanes, and 

25 to accomplish all the other purposes outlined in this sec-
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1 tion, in order to facilitate inspections and expedite the flow 

2 of travel and commerce. 

3 (d) REDUCTION OF PROGRAM FEES.—The Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security may reduce the enrollment fees for 

5 the programs described in subsection (a) if necessary to 

6 encourage participation. 

7 (e) CREATION OF REMOTE ENROLLMENT CEN8 TERS.—The Secretary shall create a minimum of 4 remote 

9 enrollment centers, away from the borders of the United 

10 States, for such programs in major population centers 

11 where there is a demand for such a service. 

12 (f) CREATION OF APPEALS PROCESS.—The Sec13 retary of Homeland Security must establish a process to 

14 review actions that terminate the participation of travelers 

15 in pre-enrollment programs. 

16 (g) REPORT ON BUDGET, PROGRAM USE, AND EN17 FORCEMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland Security annu18 ally shall submit to the appropriate congressional commit19 tees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security 

20 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) a report on the programs 

21 described in subsection (a). The report should include a 

22 review of costs associated with the programs, including— 

23 (1) areas of program expansion within a port24 of-entry, to other ports-of-entry and to other modes 
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1 of travel including air, mass transit, bicycle and pe2 destrians; 

3 (2) the cost of upgrade and maintenance needs; 

4 (3) update on status and expansion of enroll5 ment centers; 

6 (4) infrastructure needs on the US, Canadian, 

7 and Mexican sides of the border to enhance the pro8 grams; 

9 (5) universal access through ports; 

10 (6) technology and database enhancements to 

11 link watch lists to the programs; 

12 (7) the feasibility of incorporating radio fre13 quency enabled travel documents into the programs, 

14 such as passports, alien registration cards, and other 

15 documents; 

16 (8) the cost of enabling all inspection lanes with 

17 pre-enrollment technology; 

18 (9) public information campaign and relevant 

19 associated costs; and 

20 (10) for each pre-enrollment location— 

21 (A) total vehicles processed per month; 

22 (B) total pre-enrolled vehicles processed 

23 per month; 

24 (C) total pre-enrolled vehicles processed 

25 per day; 
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1 (D) total nonenrolled vehicles processed 

2 per month; 

3 (E) total nonenrolled vehicles processed 

4 per day; 

5 (F) completed compliance checks per6 formed per month; 

7 (G) duration of inspections; 

8 (H) number of passengers per vehicle; 

9 (I) basis for apprehension of violator; 

10 (J) types of violation; and 

11 (K) enforcement actions. 

12 Subtitle B—Enhancing Border 

13 Monitoring Technology 

14 SEC. 111. DEPLOYMENT OF SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS 

15 ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER. 

16 (a) PLAN.—Not later than September 30, 2005, the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop a com18 prehensive plan to fully deploy technological surveillance 

19 systems along the U.S.-Mexico border. Surveillance sys20 tems included in the deployment plan must— 

21 (1) ensure continuous monitoring of every mile 

22 of the U.S.-Mexico border; and 

23 (2) to the extent practicable, be fully interoper24 able with existing surveillance systems, such as the 
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1 Integrated Surveillance Intelligence Systems already 

2 in use by the Department of Homeland Security. 

3 Additionally, the deployment plan should include, but not 

4 be limited to, the following elements: 

5 (3) A description of the specific technology to 

6 be deployed. 

7 (4) An assessment of the success of existing 

8 technologies to determine if one technology is better 

9 than another, or whether there is a way to combine 

10 the capabilities of various detection devices into a 

11 single device. 

12 (5) A description of the technological features 

13 of surveillance systems allowing for compatibility, if 

14 practicable, with existing surveillance technologies. 

15 (6) A description of how the U.S. Border Patrol 

16 is working, or will work, with the Directorate of 

17 Science and Technology to analyze high altitude 

18 monitoring technologies (such as unmanned aerial 

19 vehicles and tethered aerostat radar systems) for use 

20 with land-based monitoring technologies. 

21 (7) A description of how radiation portal mon22 itors will be deployed to ports of entry along the 

23 U.S.-Mexico border, and other border locations, con24 sistent with section 114. 
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1 (8) A description of how K–9 detection units 

2 will be increased along the U.S.-Mexico border, con3 sistent with section 113. 

4 (9) A description of how surveillance technology 

5 will provide for continuous monitoring of the border. 

6 (10) The identification of any obstacles that 

7 may impede full implementation of the deployment 

8 plan. 

9 (11) A detailed estimate of all costs associated 

10 with the implementation of the deployment plan. 

11 (b) DEPLOYMENT.—Not later than September 30, 

12 2006, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall fully im13 plement the plan described in subsection (a). 

14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2005, 

15 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit the plan 

16 described in subsection (a) to the appropriate congres17 sional committee (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland 

18 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)). 

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 and 2006, and 

22 such sums as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal 

23 year. 
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1 SEC. 112. DEPLOYMENT OF SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS 

2 ALONG THE US-CANADIAN BORDER. 

3 Not later than September 30, 2005, the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security shall develop a plan to install surveil5 lance systems along the U.S.-Canadian border and provide 

6 the appropriate congressional committees (as defined by 

7 section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

8 101)) with a cost estimate and deployment schedule de9 signed to implement such plan. 

10 SEC. 113. LEVEL OF K–9 UNITS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu12 rity shall increase the number of K–9 units working within 

13 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including adding in14 frastructure, officers ,and support staff necessary for each 

15 unit, by 20 percent above levels in existence at the end 

16 of fiscal year 2004. 

17 (b) USE OF NEW UNITS.—The K–9 units added 

18 under subsection (a) shall be distributed proportionately 

19 to both the U.S.-Mexico border and the U.S.-Canadian 

20 border, and be used only for bomb, passenger, and cur21 rency detection purposes. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

24 necessary to carry out this section. 
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1 SEC. 114. DEPLOYMENT OF RADIATION PORTAL MONITORS 

2 ON THE SOUTHERN BORDER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity shall ensure radiation portal monitors are installed at 

5 all southern border ports of entry not later than Sep6 tember 30, 2005. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated $49,000,000 to carry 

9 out this section. 

10 Subtitle C—Ensuring Sufficient 

11 Well-Trained Personnel at Our 

12 Borders 

13 SEC. 121. DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF CBP PERSONNEL. 

14 (a) TEMPORARY INCREASE IN PERSONNEL.—Pend15 ing congressional consideration of the study described in 

16 section 122, there are authorized to be appropriated to 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security such sums as may 

18 be necessary— 

19 (1) to double, as compared to the number of 

20 such positions which existed at the end of fiscal year 

21 2004, the number of positions for U.S. Customs and 

22 Border Protection personnel (including support per23 sonnel) at and between our nation’s ports of entry; 

24 (2) to establish, not later than September 30, 

25 2005, at least one Border Patrol unit for the Virgin 

26 Islands of the United States; and 
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1 (3) to establish facilities in which the additional 

2 personnel described in paragraph (1) may work. 

3 (b) WAIVER OF LIMITATION.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security is authorized to waive any limitation 

5 on the number of full-time equivalent personnel assigned 

6 to the Department of Homeland Security to fulfill the re7 quirements of subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 122. ASSESSING STAFFING NEEDS AT OUR BORDERS. 

9 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall contract 

10 with an independent entity to undertake a study to deter11 mine the necessary level and allocation of personnel, in12 cluding support staff, at United States ports of entry and 

13 border patrol sectors. The study shall take into account, 

14 at a minimum, the overall mission of U.S. Customs and 

15 Border Protection, threat and vulnerability information 

16 pertaining to the nation’s borders and ports of entry, the 

17 impact of new border security programs, policies and tech18 nologies, and an analysis of traffic volumes and wait times 

19 at ports of entry. The study is to be provided to the appro20 priate congressional committees, as defined in section 2 

21 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101), 

22 not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act. 
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1 SEC. 123. ADDITIONAL AND CONTINUOUS TRAINING FOR 

2 INSPECTORS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity shall provide appropriate training for inspectors, and 

5 associated support staff on an ongoing basis to utilize new 

6 technologies and to ensure that the proficiency levels of 

7 such personnel are acceptable to protect the borders of the 

8 United States. 

9 (b) LANGUAGE TRAINING.—The Secretary of Home10 land Security ensure that inspectors assigned to the south11 ern border are proficient in Spanish language, and shall 

12 provide training to inspectors in Spanish and other lan13 guages determined to be necessary in carrying out anti14 terrorism and law enforcement functions. The Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security shall provide, where necessary, ap16 propriate language training to inspectors and border pa17 trol agents on the northern border. 

18 (c) RETENTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERTS.— 

19 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

21 make recommendations to the appropriate congressional 

22 committees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Secu23 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) on how the current De24 partment of Homeland Security personnel system should 

25 be modified to allow for the retention and development of 
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1 immigration and customs experts, to include the creation 

2 of new positions. 

3 SEC. 124. REQUIRING REPORT ON THE ‘‘ONE FACE AT THE 

4 BORDER INITIATIVE’’. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30 of 

6 each of the calendar years 2005 and 2006, the Commis7 sioner of Customs shall prepare and submit to Congress 

8 a report— 

9 (1) describing and analyzing the goals, success, 

10 and shortfalls of the One Face at the Border Initia11 tive at enhancing security and facilitating travel; 

12 (2) providing a breakdown of the number of 

13 personnel of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

14 that were personnel of the United States Customs 

15 Service prior to the establishment of the Department 

16 of Homeland Security, that were personnel of the 

17 Immigration and Naturalization Service prior to the 

18 establishment of the Department of Homeland Secu19 rity, and that were hired after the establishment of 

20 the Department of Homeland Security; 

21 (3) describing the training time provided to 

22 each employee on an annual basis for the various 

23 training components of the One Face at the Border 

24 Initiative; 
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1 (4) outlining the steps taken by U.S. Customs 

2 and Border Protection to ensure that expertise is re3 tained with respect to customs, immigration, and ag4 riculture inspection functions under the One Face at 

5 the Border Initiative; and 

6 (5) reviewing whether the missions of customs, 

7 agriculture, and immigration are equally empha8 sized. 

9 (b) ASSESSMENT OF REPORT.—The Comptroller 

10 General of the United States shall the review the reports 

11 submitted under subsection (a) and shall provide an as12 sessment to the appropriate congressional committees (as 

13 defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

14 (6 U.S.C. 101)) regarding the effectiveness of the One 

15 Face at the Border Initiative. 

16 Subtitle D—Establishing a Com17 prehensive Border Security 

18 Strategy 

19 SEC. 131. LAND BORDER SECURITY STRATEGY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity, in consultation with the heads of all other Federal 

22 agencies with border-related functions or with facilities or 

23 lands on or along the border, shall submit to the appro24 priate congressional committees (as defined in section 2 

25 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) 
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1 unclassified and classified versions of a unified, com2 prehensive strategy to secure the land borders of the 

3 United States not later than 6 months after the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act. The submission should include 

5 a description of the actions already taken to implement 

6 the strategy. 

7 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall cover the following 

8 areas: 

9 (1) Personnel. 

10 (2) Infrastructure. 

11 (3) Technology. 

12 (4) Coordination of intelligence among agencies. 

13 (5) Legal responsibilities. 

14 (6) Criminal statutes. 

15 (7) Apprehension goals. 

16 (8) Prosecutorial guidelines. 

17 (9) Economic impact. 

18 (10) Flow of commerce. 

19 (c) CONSULTATION.—In creating the strategy de20 scribed in subsection (a), the Federal agencies described 

21 in such subsection shall consult private sector organiza22 tions and nongovernmental organizations with national se23 curity, privacy, agriculture, immigration, customs, trans24 portation, technology, legal, and business expertise. 
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1 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall imple2 ment the strategy not later than 12 months after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (e) EVALUATION.—The Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall track, monitor, and evaluate such 

6 strategy to secure our borders to determine its efficacy. 

7 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 15 months after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, and every year there9 after for the succeeding 5 years, the Comptroller General 

10 of the United States shall submit a report to the Congress 

11 on the results of the activities undertaken under sub12 section (a) during the previous year. Each such report 

13 shall include an analysis of the degree to which the border 

14 security strategy has been effective in securing our bor15 ders. Each such report shall include a collection and sys16 tematic analysis of data, including workload indicators, re17 lated to activities to improve and increase border security. 

18 SEC. 132. IMPROVED INFORMATION SHARING. 

19 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, not later 

20 than October 1, 2005— 

21 (1) integrate the IDENT and IAFIS databases; 

22 and 

23 (2) make interoperable databases used by in24 spectors in secondary inspections. 
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1 SEC. 133. CREATION OF NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BOR2 DER COORDINATORS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Homeland Secu4 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 201 seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 402, by redesignating paragraph 

6 (8) as paragraph (9) and by inserting after para7 graph (7) the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) Increasing the security of the United 

9 States at the ports of entry located along the north10 ern and southern borders, and improving the coordi11 nation among the agencies responsible for maintain12 ing that security.’’; and 

13 (2) in subtitle C, by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 431. BORDER COORDINATORS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be within the Direc17 torate of Border and Transportation Security the posi18 tions of Northern Border Coordinator and Southern Bor19 der Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the Secretary 

20 and who shall report directly to the Under Secretary for 

21 Border and Transportation Security. 

22 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Northern Border Co23 ordinator and the Southern Border Coordinator shall un24 dertake the following responsibilities along the northern 

25 and southern borders, respectively— 
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1 ‘‘(1) serve as the primary official of the Depart2 ment responsible for coordinating all Federal secu3 rity activities along the border, especially at land 

4 border ports of entry; 

5 ‘‘(2) provide enhanced communication and 

6 data-sharing between Federal, State, local, and trib7 al agencies on law enforcement, emergency response, 

8 or security-related responsibilities for areas on or ad9 jacent to the borders of the United States with Can10 ada or Mexico; 

11 ‘‘(3) work to improve the communications sys12 tems within the Department to facilitate the integra13 tion of communications of matters relating to border 

14 security; 

15 ‘‘(4) oversee the implementation of the perti16 nent bilateral agreement (the United States-Canada 

17 ‘Smart Border’ Declaration applicable to the north18 ern border and the United States-Mexico Partner19 ship Agreement applicable to the southern border) to 

20 improve border functions, ensure security, and pro21 mote trade and tourism; 

22 ‘‘(5) consistent with section 102, assess all land 

23 border ports of entry along the appropriate border 

24 and develop a list of infrastructure and technology 

25 improvement projects for submission to the Sec-
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1 retary based on the ability of a project to fulfill im2 mediate security requirements and facilitate trade 

3 across the borders of the United States; and 

4 ‘‘(6) serve as a liaison to the foreign agencies 

5 with responsibility for the appropriate border with 

6 the United States.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of such 

8 Act is amended in the table of contents by inserting after 

9 the item relating to section 430 the following: 

‘‘431. Border coordinators.’’. 

10 SEC. 134. SMART BORDER ACCORD IMPLEMENTATION. 

11 The President shall submit to the appropriate con12 gressional committees (as defined in section 2 of the 

13 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) informa14 tion about the ongoing progress on implementation of the 

15 Smart Border Accords through quarterly updates on meet16 ings of the Smart Border Working Group. 

17 SEC. 135. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PERIOD OF ADMIS18 SION FOR BORDER CROSSING CARD HOLD19 ERS. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con21 gress that citizens and nationals of Mexico should be treat22 ed with parity in relation to citizens and nationals of Can23 ada in establishing the periods of time they are lawfully 

24 permitted to remain in the United States. 
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1 (b) MODIFICATION TO DOCUMENTARY REQUIRE2 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

3 once section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

4 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1221 

5 note) is fully implemented, the period of admission for an 

6 alien entering the United States under a border crossing 

7 card shall be 6 months. 

8 Subtitle E—Enhancing Border 

9 Security Programs 

10 SEC. 141. CREATING A MORE EFFECTIVE ENTRY-EXIT SYS11 TEM. 

12 (a) CREATION OF A US–VISIT OUTREACH OF13 FICE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security shall create an ‘‘Office of US–VISIT Out16 reach’’ that will inform on a regular basis local bor17 der officials, residents, and businesses about develop18 ments in the US–VISIT program. Specifically, this 

19 office shall provide information to local border offi20 cials, residents, and businesses, and seek guidance 

21 from such persons and entities about, the practical 

22 effects to border communities of the implementation 

23 of US–VISIT. 
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1 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. 

4 (b) TASK FORCE ON INTEGRATED ENTRY AND EXIT

5 SYSTEM.— 

6 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

7 the Congress that the work of the task force estab8 lished under section 3 of the Immigration and Natu9 ralization Service Data Management Improvement 

10 Act of 2000 (8 U.S.C. 1365a note) was prematurely 

11 terminated, robbing the Department of Homeland 

12 Security of the very expertise needed to properly set 

13 the requirements for, and validate the work of, con14 tractors on information technology programs, par15 ticularly the US–VISIT program. 

16 (2) TERMINATION.—Section 3(i) of the Immi17 gration and Naturalization Service Data Manage18 ment Improvement Act of 2000 (8 U.S.C. 1365a 

19 note) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 

21 on a date designated by the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity as the date on which the work of the Task Force has 

23 been completed, except that such designated date may not 

24 be earlier than December 21, 2008.’’. 

25 (c) ELECTRONIC ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE RECORDS.— 
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1 (1) Not later than December 31, 2005, the Sec2 retary of Homeland Security— 

3 (A) shall ensure that the functions served 

4 by Department of Homeland Security paper 

5 Form Number I–94 (Arrival/Departure Record) 

6 and Form Number I–94W (NIV Waiver Ar7 rival/Departure Record) are being carried out 

8 by electronic means; and 

9 (B) shall eliminate such forms. 

10 (2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 

11 December 31, 2004, the Secretary of Homeland Se12 curity shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

13 committees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland 

14 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.101)) a plan describ15 ing the measures the Secretary is taking to carry 

16 out subsection (c) before the deadline described in 

17 such subsection. 

18 SEC. 142. TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION 

19 CARD. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity shall submit a report to the Congress not later than 

22 December 31, 2004, regarding the development and dis23 tribution of a transportation worker identification card. 

24 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 

25 (a) shall include information on— 
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1 (1) the plan for distribution of the card; 

2 (2) the eligibility of Canadian and Mexican 

3 truck drivers who are certified under the Free and 

4 Secure Trade (‘‘FAST’’) initiative; 

5 (3) selected biometric feature and other security 

6 features of the card; and 

7 (4) the cost of, and deployment schedule for, 

8 card-reading equipment. 

9 SEC. 143. STANDARDS AND VERIFICATION PROCEDURES 

10 FOR THE SECURITY OF INTERMODAL CARGO 

11 CONTAINERS. 

12 (a) STANDARDS AND VERIFICATION PROCEDURES.— 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

15 through the Under Secretary for Border and Transpor16 tation Security, shall establish standards and verification 

17 procedures for the security of intermodal cargo containers 

18 moving within the intermodal transportation system, in19 cluding standards for sealing and procedures for seal 

20 verifications for cargo containers at loading. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The standards and verification 

22 procedures established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 

23 consistent with the cargo container security recommenda24 tions of the Interagency Container Working Group and 
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1 the Smart and Secure Trade Lane program and shall meet 

2 the following additional requirements: 

3 (1) SEAL STANDARDS.—Intermodal cargo con4 tainers shall at a minimum be affixed with a secu5 rity seal equivalent to the level ‘‘D’’ high security 

6 seal (as certified by the International Organization 

7 for Standardization (ISO); Certification No. 17712) 

8 at loading. 

9 (2) SEAL VERIFICATION.—Procedures shall be 

10 established for the verification of security seals de11 scribed in paragraph (1), including procedures to de12 termine which individuals and entities in the inter13 modal transportation system are responsible for seal14 ing intermodal cargo containers, recording of seal 

15 numbers, changes to such numbers if a container is 

16 opened, and anomalies to security seals. 

17 SEC. 144. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE NEED FOR ADDI18 TIONAL STAFF FOR THE UNITED STATES 

19 CONSULATE-GENERAL IN MEXICO. 

20 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

21 (1) the United States Mission to Mexico plays 

22 an important part in ensuring the security of our 

23 southern border; 

24 (2) this mission must have sufficient staff in 

25 order to adequately fulfill their consular responsibil-
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•HR 1320 IH 

1 ities, an important part of a comprehensive strategy 

2 to secure our border; 

3 (3) the level of staffing has not kept pace with 

4 rising consular workloads; and 

5 (4) therefore, appropriations should be author6 ized for a 25 percent staff increase for the United 

7 States mission to Mexico. 

8 Subtitle F—Securing Our Tribal 

9 and Federal Lands and Territories 

10 SEC. 151. OFFICE OF TRIBAL SECURITY. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

12 the Department of Homeland Security the Office of Tribal 

13 Security. 

14 (b) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Tribal Security shall 

15 be administered by a Director, who shall be appointed by 

16 the President by and with the advice and consent of the 

17 Senate. The Director shall report directly to the Secretary 

18 of Homeland Security. 

19 (c) DUTIES.—The Director shall be responsible for 

20 coordinating relations between the Federal Government 

21 and federally recognized Indian tribes on issues relating 

22 to homeland security, which shall include the following du23 ties: 
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1 (1) Providing a point of contact within Depart2 ment of Homeland Security which shall be respon3 sible for— 

4 (A) meeting the broad and complex Fed5 eral responsibilities owed to federally recognized 

6 Indian tribes by the Department of Homeland 

7 Security; and 

8 (B) soliciting and, where appropriate, ad9 dressing the homeland security concerns of fed10 erally recognized Indian tribes and other parties 

11 interested in Indian affairs. 

12 (2) Communicating relevant policies of the De13 partment of Homeland Security to federally recog14 nized Indian tribes and the public. 

15 (3) Promoting internal uniformity of Depart16 ment of Homeland Security policies relating to In17 dian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, 

18 United States Code). 

19 (4) Coordinating with the Directorate of Border 

20 and Transportation Security and tribal governments 

21 to develop a comprehensive border security policy 

22 that addresses law enforcement, personnel, and 

23 funding issues in Indian country (as defined in sec24 tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code) on the 

25 United States borders with Canada and with Mexico. 
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1 (5) Coordinating with the Directorate for Infor2 mation Analysis and Infrastructure Protection and 

3 tribal governments to develop appropriate policies 

4 for infrastructure protection on Indian lands, as well 

5 as information sharing mechanisms with tribal gov6 ernments. 

7 (6) Coordinating with the Directorate of Emer8 gency Preparedness and Response and the Office of 

9 State and Local Government Coordination and Pre10 paredness to help ensure that tribal governments are 

11 fully informed of, have access to, and may apply for 

12 all Department of Homeland Security grant oppor13 tunities for emergency response providers, and to de14 velop and achieve preparedness goals for tribal gov15 ernments that are consistent with national goals for 

16 terrorism preparedness, as determined by the De17 partment. 

18 (7) Coordinating with the Director of Science 

19 and Technology to identify opportunities to conduct 

20 research and development of homeland security tech21 nologies or scientific understanding for tribal univer22 sities or private sector entities. 

23 (8) Coordinating with the Office of Citizenship 

24 and Immigration Services and other relevant offices 

25 within the Department of Homeland Security with 
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1 immigration service and enforcement related func2 tions to develop policies on issues related to citizen3 ship and the movement of members of federally rec4 ognized Indian tribes across the United States bor5 der, taking into consideration the unique character6 istics of certain federally recognized Indian tribes 

7 with jurisdiction over lands adjacent to the Canadian 

8 and Mexican borders. 

9 (9) Coordinating with other offices within the 

10 Department of Homeland Security to develop and 

11 implement sound policies regarding Indian country 

12 (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States 

13 Code) and tribal governments. 

14 SEC. 152. TRANSFER OF ‘‘SHADOW WOLVES’’ FROM CPB TO 

15 ICE. 

16 (a) TRANSFER OF EXISTING UNIT.—Not later than 

17 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security shall transfer to the Im19 migration and Customs Enforcement all functions (includ20 ing the personnel, assets, and obligations held by or avail21 able in connection with such functions) of the Customs 

22 Patrol Officers unit of U.S. Customs and Border Protec23 tion operating on the Tohono O’odham Indian reservation 

24 (commonly known as the ‘‘Shadow Wolves’’ unit). 
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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW UNITS.—The Sec2 retary is authorized to establish within U.S. Immigration 

3 and Customs Enforcement additional units of Customs 

4 Patrol Officers in accordance with this section. 

5 (c) DUTIES.—The Customs Patrol Officer unit trans6 ferred pursuant to subsection (a) and the additional units 

7 established pursuant to subsection (b) shall enforce the 

8 customs laws of the United States on Indian lands by pre9 venting the smuggling of narcotics, weapons of mass de10 struction, and other contraband. 

11 (d) BASIC PAY FOR JOURNEYMAN OFFICERS.—The 

12 rate of basic pay for a journeyman Customs Patrol Officer 

13 in a unit described in this section shall be not greater than 

14 the rate of basic pay for GS–13 of the General Schedule. 

15 SEC. 153. DHS AND DOI COORDINATION ON BORDER SECU16 RITY; PROVISION OF TEMPORARY AUTHOR17 ITY TO DHS TO TRANSFER FUNDS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Until the completion and imple19 mentation of the border security strategy described in sec20 tion 131 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

21 is authorized to transfer appropriated funds to the Sec22 retary of Interior in accordance with the memorandum of 

23 understanding described in subsection (b) to support the 

24 security needs of the Department of the Interior, its bu-
34 

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1 reaus, and tribal entities, including, the protection of bor2 der lands, critical infrastructure, and key resources. 

3 (b) MEMORANDUM.—The Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity and the Secretary of Interior shall enter into a 

5 memorandum of understanding regarding the funds de6 scribed in subsection (a). This memorandum shall— 

7 (1) establish criteria for Department of Interior 

8 projects to receive such funding; 

9 (2) establish priorities among such projects; 

10 and 

11 (3) include a description of the scope of activi12 ties for such projects, including equipment, recurring 

13 maintenance, construction of facilities, recapitaliza14 tion of facilities, and operations. 

15 (c) REPORT.—The appropriate congressional com16 mittees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security 

17 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) shall be notified 15 days prior 

18 to any transfer of funds. Not later than September 30, 

19 2005, the Secretary of Interior shall submit to the appro20 priate congressional committees (as so defined) a copy of 

21 the memorandum of understanding described in sub22 section (b). 
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1 TITLE II—SECURING THE INTE2 RIOR; TOOLS FOR BORDER 

3 SECURITY 

4 Subtitle A—Increase in Staff for 

5 ICE 

6 SEC. 201. ICE STRATEGY AND STAFFING ASSESSMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31 of 

8 each year, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub9 mit to the Government Accountability Office and the ap10 propriate congressional committees (as defined by section 

11 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) 

12 a written report describing its strategy for deploying 

13 human resources (including investigators and support per14 sonnel) to accomplish its border security mission. 

15 (b) REVIEW.—Not later than 90 days after receiving 

16 any report under subsection (a), the Government Account17 ability Office shall submit to each appropriate congres18 sional committee (as defined by section 2 of the Homeland 

19 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) a written evaluation 

20 of such report, including recommendations pertaining to 

21 how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could 

22 better deploy human resources to achieve its border secu23 rity mission through legislative or administrative action. 
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1 Subtitle B—Increase in Detention 

2 Space 

3 SEC. 211. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PROCESSING 

4 OF CRIMINAL ALIENS WHILE INCARCERATED. 

5 It is the sense of the Congress that immigration cases 

6 involving incarcerated criminal aliens should be processed 

7 while the criminal alien is in prison. In order to maximize 

8 the use of existing detention space, the Department of 

9 Homeland Security should work with prisons in which 

10 criminal aliens are incarcerated to complete their removal 

11 or deportation proceeding before such aliens are released 

12 from prison and sent to Federal detention. 

13 SEC. 212. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INCREASE IN 

14 PROSECUTORS AND IMMIGRATION JUDGES. 

15 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

16 (1) prosecutors and immigration judges are 

17 critical for the prompt and proper enforcement of 

18 our immigration laws, and are an important part of 

19 a comprehensive strategy; 

20 (2) an insufficient number of prosecutors and 

21 immigration judges currently exists to enforce the 

22 immigration laws of the United States; and 

23 (3) therefore, appropriations should be author24 ized for appropriate staff increases for judicial and 
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1 prosecutorial offices, commensurate with other per2 sonnel increases directed in this Act. 

3 Subtitle C—Enhancing Law 

4 Enforcement Access to Informants 

5 SEC. 221. NEW CLASS OF NONIMMIGRANT ALIENS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(S) of the Im7 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(S)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

10 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the comma at the 

11 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

12 (3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 

13 ‘‘(iii) who the Secretary of Homeland Se14 curity, the Secretary of State, or the Attorney 

15 General determines— 

16 ‘‘(I) is in possession of critical reliable 

17 information concerning a commercial alien 

18 smuggling organization or enterprise; 

19 ‘‘(II) is willing to supply or has sup20 plied such information to a Federal or 

21 State court; and 

22 ‘‘(III) whose presence in the United 

23 States the Secretary of Homeland Secu24 rity, the Secretary of State, or the Attor25 ney General determines is essential to the 
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1 success of an authorized criminal investiga2 tion, the successful prosecution of an indi3 vidual involved in the commercial alien 

4 smuggling organization or enterprise, or 

5 the disruption of such organization or en6 terprise,’’; 

7 (4) by inserting ‘‘, or with respect to clause 

8 (iii), the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Sec9 retary of State, or the Attorney General’’ after 

10 ‘‘jointly’’; and 

11 (5) by striking ‘‘(i) or (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i), 

12 (ii), or (iii)’’. 

13 (b) ADMISSION OF NONIMMIGRANTS.—Section 

14 214(k) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1184(k)) is amended— 

16 (1) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the 

17 following: ‘‘The number of aliens who may be pro18 vided a visa as nonimmigrants under section 

19 101(a)(15)(S)(iii) in any fiscal year may not exceed 

20 400.’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(5) If the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Sec23 retary of State, or the Attorney General determines that 

24 the identity of a nonimmigrant described in clause (iii) of 

25 section 101(a)(15)(S), or that of any family member of 
39 

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1 such a nonimmigrant who is provided nonimmigrant sta2 tus pursuant to such section, must be protected, such offi3 cial may take such lawful action as the official considers 

4 necessary to effect such protection.’’. 

5 SEC. 222. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF NONIMMIGRANT TO 

6 THAT OF PERSON ADMITTED FOR PERMA7 NENT RESIDENCE. 

8 Section 245(j) of the Immigration and Nationality 

9 Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(j)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(1) or (2),’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘(1), (2), (3), or (4),’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para13 graph (5); 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) If, in the opinion of the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, the Secretary of State, or the Attorney Gen18 eral— 

19 ‘‘(A) a nonimmigrant admitted into the United 

20 States under section 101(a)(15)(S)(iii) has supplied 

21 information described in subclause (I) of such sec22 tion; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the provision of such information has sub24 stantially contributed to the success of a commercial 

25 alien smuggling investigation, the disruption of a 
40 

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1 commercial alien smuggling operation, or the pros2 ecution of an individual described in subclause (III) 

3 of that section, 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status 

5 of the alien (and the spouse, married and unmarried sons 

6 and daughters, and parents of the alien if admitted under 

7 that section) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for per8 manent residence if the alien is not described in section 

9 212(a)(3)(E). 

10 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust 

11 the status of a nonimmigrant admitted into the United 

12 States under section 101(a)(15)(S)(iii) (and the spouse, 

13 married and unmarried sons and daughters, and parents 

14 of the nonimmigrant if admitted under that section) to 

15 that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

16 on the basis of a recommendation of the Secretary of State 

17 or the Attorney General.’’; and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(6) If the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Sec20 retary of State, or the Attorney General determines that 

21 the identity of a person whose status is adjusted under 

22 this subsection must be protected, such official may take 

23 such lawful action as the official considers necessary to 

24 effect such protection.’’. 
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1 Subtitle D—Increased Penalties for 

2 Smuggling 

3 SEC. 231. COMBATING AGGRAVATED ALIEN SMUGGLING. 

4 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 274(a) of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) In the case of a person who has brought aliens 

8 into the United States in violation of this subsection, the 

9 sentence otherwise provided for may be increased by up 

10 to 10 years if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the offense was part of an ongoing com12 mercial organization or enterprise; 

13 ‘‘(B) aliens were transported in groups of 10 or 

14 more; 

15 ‘‘(C) aliens were transported in a manner that 

16 endangered their lives or the aliens presented a life17 threatening health risk to people in the United 

18 States; or 

19 ‘‘(D) aliens were transported for purposes of 

20 prostitution or involuntary servitude.’’. 

21 (b) REWARDS PROGRAM.—Section 274 of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324) is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(e) REWARDS PROGRAM.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The rewards program shall be 

2 designed to assist in the elimination of aggravated 

3 alien smuggling. 

4 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub5 section, the term ‘aggravated alien smuggling’ 

6 means a violation for which increased penalties are 

7 provided under subsection (a)(4). 

8 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—The rewards program 

9 shall be administered by the Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security, in consultation, as appropriate, with the 

11 Attorney General and the Secretary of State. 

12 ‘‘(4) REWARDS AUTHORIZED.—In the sole dis13 cretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, such 

14 Secretary, in consultation, as appropriate, with the 

15 Attorney General and the Secretary of State, may 

16 pay a reward to any individual who furnishes infor17 mation or testimony leading to— 

18 ‘‘(A) the arrest or conviction of any indi19 vidual conspiring or attempting to commit an 

20 act of aggravated alien smuggling; 

21 ‘‘(B) the arrest or conviction of any indi22 vidual committing such an act; 

23 ‘‘(C) the arrest or conviction of any indi24 vidual aiding or abetting the commission of 

25 such an act; 
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1 ‘‘(D) the prevention, frustration, or favor2 able resolution of such an act, including the dis3 mantling of an aggravated alien smuggling or4 ganization in whole or in significant part; or 

5 ‘‘(E) the identification or location of an in6 dividual who holds a key leadership position in 

7 an aggravated alien smuggling operation. 

8 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

10 as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. 

11 Amounts appropriated under this paragraph shall 

12 remain available until expended. 

13 ‘‘(6) INELIGIBILITY.—An officer or employee of 

14 any Federal, State, local, or foreign government 

15 who, while in performance of his or her official du16 ties, furnishes information described in paragraph 

17 (4) shall not be eligible for a reward under this sub18 section for such furnishing. 

19 ‘‘(7) PROTECTION MEASURES.—If the Secretary 

20 of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, or the 

21 Attorney General determines that the identity of an 

22 individual who furnishes information or testimony 

23 described in paragraph (4), or the identity of any 

24 spouse, parent, son, or daughter of such an indi25 vidual, must be protected, such official may take 
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1 such lawful action as the official considers necessary 

2 to effect such protection. 

3 ‘‘(8) LIMITATIONS AND CERTIFICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—No reward 

5 under this subsection may exceed $100,000, ex6 cept as personally authorized by the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security if such Secretary deter8 mines, in consultation, as appropriate, with the 

9 Attorney General and the Secretary of State, 

10 that the offer or payment of an award of a larg11 er amount is necessary to combat a aggravated 

12 alien smuggling operation. 

13 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Any reward under this 

14 subsection exceeding $50,000 shall be person15 ally approved by the Secretary of Homeland Se16 curity. 

17 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION FOR PAYMENT.—Any 

18 reward granted under this subsection shall be 

19 certified for payment by the Secretary of Home20 land Security.’’. 

21 (c) OUTREACH PROGRAM.—Section 274 of the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324), as amended 

23 by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the 

24 end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(f) OUTREACH PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Home2 land Security, in consultation, as appropriate, with the At3 torney General and the Secretary of State, shall develop 

4 and implement an outreach program to educate the public 

5 in the United States and abroad about— 

6 ‘‘(1) the penalties for bringing in and harboring 

7 aliens in violation of this section; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the financial rewards and other incentives 

9 available under subsection (e) for assisting in the in10 vestigation, disruption, or prosecution of an aggra11 vated alien smuggling operation.’’. 

12 SEC. 232. INCREASED CRIMINAL SENTENCES AND FINES 

13 FOR ALIEN SMUGGLING. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), pursu15 ant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 

16 United States Code, the United States Sentencing Com17 mission shall promulgate sentencing guidelines or amend 

18 existing sentencing guidelines for smuggling, transporting, 

19 harboring, or inducing aliens under sections 274(a)(1)(A) 

20 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1324(a)(1)(A)) so as to— 

22 (1) triple the minimum term of imprisonment 

23 under that section for offenses involving the smug24 gling, transporting, harboring, or inducing of— 
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1 (A) 1 to 5 aliens from 10 months to 30 

2 months; 

3 (B) 6 to 24 aliens from 18 months to 54 

4 months; 

5 (C) 25 to 100 aliens from 27 months to 81 

6 months; and 

7 (D) 101 aliens or more from 37 months to 

8 111 months; 

9 (2) increase the minimum level of fines for each 

10 of the offenses described in subparagraphs (A) 

11 through (D) of paragraph (1) to the greater of 

12 $25,000 per alien or 3 times the amount the defend13 ant received or expected to receive as compensation 

14 for the illegal activity; 

15 (3) increase by at least 2 offense levels above 

16 the applicable enhancement in effect on the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act the sentencing enhance18 ments for intentionally or recklessly creating a sub19 stantial risk of serious bodily injury or causing bod20 ily injury, serious injury, or permanent or life 

21 threatening injury; 

22 (4) for actions causing death, increase the of23 fense level to be equivalent to that for involuntary 

24 manslaughter under section 1112 of title 18, United 

25 States Code; and 
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1 (5) for corporations or other business entities 

2 that knowingly benefit from such offenses, increase 

3 the minimum level of fines for each of the offenses 

4 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of para5 graph (1) to $50,000 per alien employed directly, or 

6 indirectly through contract, by the corporation or 

7 entity. 

8 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

9 an offense that involved the smuggling, transporting, or 

10 harboring only of the defendant’s spouse or child (or both 

11 the defendant’s spouse and child). 

12 (c) DEADLINE.—The United States Sentencing Com13 mission shall carry out subsection (a) not later than the 

14 date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 SEC. 233. INCREASED PENALTY FOR SMUGGLING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The third undesignated para18 graph of section 545 of title 18, United States Code, is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘five years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 

20 years’’. 

21 (b) ENHANCED PENALTY FOR CAUSING DEATH.— 

22 Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, 

23 United States Code, the United States Sentencing Com24 mission shall amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to 

25 provide sentencing enhancements for an offense under sec-
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1 tion 545 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by 

2 subsection (a), that results in the death of a person. 

3 (c) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER GUIDELINES.—In 

4 carrying out this section, the United States Sentencing 

5 Commission— 

6 (1) shall ensure that there is reasonable consist7 ency with other Federal sentencing guidelines; and 

8 (2) shall avoid duplicative punishments for sub9 stantially the same offense. 

10 TITLE III—BEYOND OUR 

11 BORDERS (INTERNATIONAL) 

12 Subtitle A—Coordinating DHS 

13 Mission Overseas 

14 SEC. 301. OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS; EFFECTIVE 

15 AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND COORDI16 NATION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS. 

17 Section 879(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

18 (6 U.S.C. 459(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(5) To manage all overseas assignments of 

21 personnel of the Department, including by coordi22 nating with the Department of State with respect to 

23 such assignments and related support matters.’’. 
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1 SEC. 302. CREATION OF AN OFFICE OF OVERSEAS SERVICE. 

2 Section 879 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

3 (6 U.S.C. 459) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) OFFICE OF OVERSEAS SERVICE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall create 

7 an Office of Overseas Service within the Office of 

8 International Affairs similar to the Foreign Agricul9 tural Service of the Department of Agriculture and 

10 the United States and Foreign Commercial Service 

11 of the Department of Commerce. The Director of 

12 the Office of International Affairs shall be respon13 sible for administering the Office of Overseas Serv14 ice. 

15 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of Overseas 

16 Service shall be responsible for the following func17 tions: 

18 ‘‘(A) Serving as the contact for the De19 partment of Homeland Security with the State 

20 Department to coordinate overseas assignments. 

21 ‘‘(B) Recruitment of personnel for overseas 

22 service. 

23 ‘‘(C) Retention of personnel for overseas 

24 service. 

25 ‘‘(D) Oversight of training of personnel for 

26 overseas service. 
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1 ‘‘(3) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) STUDY.—Prior to creating the Office 

3 of Overseas Service, the Secretary shall direct 

4 the Director of the Office of International Af5 fairs to conduct a study on how best to create 

6 a foreign service component for the Department 

7 for the purpose of adequately recruiting and re8 taining personnel who are willing and able to 

9 serve in the Department in an overseas capac10 ity. 

11 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

12 2005, the Director of the Office of Inter13 national Affairs shall prepare and submit to the 

14 appropriate congressional committees (as de15 fined by section 2 of the Homeland Security 

16 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) a report that con17 tains the results of the study on creating an Of18 fice of Overseas Service conducted pursuant to 

19 subparagraph (A) and an implementation plan 

20 for carrying out such study’s recommenda21 tions.’’. 
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1 Subtitle B—Implementing a More 

2 Effective Visa Security Program 

3 SEC. 311. IMPLEMENTING A MORE EFFECTIVE VISA SECU4 RITY PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home7 land Security shall submit to the Congress a report— 

8 (1) outlining how the Department of Homeland 

9 Security will implement the recommendations of the 

10 report issued in August 2004 by the Office of the 

11 Inspector General of the Department of Homeland 

12 Security entitled ‘‘An Evaluation of DHS Activities 

13 to Implement Section 428 of the Homeland Security 

14 Act of 2002’’; 

15 (2) detailing such department’s progress in im16 plementing each of the recommendations described 

17 in paragraph (1); and 

18 (3) examining the visa security program’s effec19 tiveness as a counter-terrorism program. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report de21 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity shall consult with the Secretary of State. 

23 (c) CONTENTS.—The report shall also include the fol24 lowing: 
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1 (1) OVERSEAS PLACEMENT OF VISA SECURITY

2 OFFICERS.—The report shall assess the criteria used 

3 in deciding where to station or not to station visa se4 curity officers 

5 (2) QUALIFICATIONS OF VISA SECURITY OFFI6 CERS.—The report shall assess the skills required of 

7 a visa security officer, including required foreign 

8 language skills. 

9 (3) DUTIES.—The report shall contain both the 

10 model visa security officer position description and 

11 the current duties of the visa security officers sta12 tioned overseas. 

13 (4) PLACEMENT WITHIN DEPARTMENT.—The 

14 report shall contain a recommendation on the proper 

15 location of the program within Department of 

16 Homeland Security to maximize its value as a 

17 counter-terrorism program. 

18 Subtitle C—Securing the Visa 

19 Waiver Program 

20 SEC. 321. VISA WAIVER PROGRAM PASSENGER SCREENING; 

21 BIOGRAPHICAL CHECKS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu23 rity shall establish, as part of the integrated entry and 

24 exit data system required under section 110 of the Illegal 

25 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 
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1 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1365a), an electronic system through 

2 which an alien seeking to enter the United States without 

3 a visa under the visa waiver program described in section 

4 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1187) is required to submit biographical information prior 

6 to embarkation. 

7 (b) ELEMENTS.—The electronic system required to 

8 be established under subsection (a) shall satisfy the fol9 lowing requirements: 

10 (1) ELECTRONIC DETERMINATION OF ELIGI11 BILITY.—The system shall include a method for an 

12 electronic determination to be made, and an elec13 tronic response to be provided, in 30 minutes or less, 

14 as to whether or not an alien submitting information 

15 as described in subsection (a) is eligible to be admit16 ted to the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor 

17 described in section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)). 

19 (2) CARRIER OBLIGATIONS.—The system shall 

20 include a method for requiring— 

21 (A) carriers and other corporations de22 scribed in section 217(a)(5) of such Act (8 

23 U.S.C. 1187(a)(5)) to inquire electronically, 

24 prior to an alien passenger’s embarkation with25 out a visa, whether the alien has been deter-
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1 mined, using the system described in this sec2 tion, to be eligible for such an admission; and 

3 (B) the electronic response to such inquiry 

4 to be provided in 90 seconds or less. 

5 (3) DEPLOYMENT.—The system shall be de6 ployed as soon as possible after the date of the en7 actment of this Act. 

8 (4) FEE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

9 shall establish a fee to be charged to aliens described 

10 in subsection (a) that is set at a level that will en11 sure the recovery of the full costs of establishing and 

12 operating the system. 

13 (c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the system, the 

14 Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with, and 

15 allow for the system’s review by, a private sector group 

16 consisting of individuals with expertise in immigration, 

17 travel, tourism, privacy, national security, or computer se18 curity issues. 

19 SEC. 322. DEFINING SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE 

20 VISA WAIVER PROGRAM OFFICE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity shall create a Visa Waiver Program Office. 

23 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the head of the 

24 Visa Waiver Program Office shall include the following: 
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1 (1) Developing a plan to submit the annual re2 port required under section 110(e) of the Illegal Im3 migration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 

4 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1221 note). 

5 (2) Developing protocols and a plan to conduct 

6 biennial country reviews. 

7 (3) Determining funding levels necessary to 

8 support the conduct of country reviews and to carry 

9 out the other responsibilities of the office. 

10 (4) Developing a process to comprehensively 

11 check all lost and stolen passport data provided 

12 countries designated as visa waiver program coun13 tries under section 217 of the Immigration and Na14 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) against entry and exit 

15 data in information systems of the United States. 

16 (5) Developing procedures to collect and ana17 lyze data concerning the fraudulent use of visa waiv18 er program passports. 

19 (6) Including in the country review protocols 

20 provisions to review document manufacturing and 

21 issuing security practices. 

22 (7) Coordinating with the Department of State 

23 to establish standard operating procedure for sys24 temic and proactive collection of lost and stolen 

25 passport information. 
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1 (8) Requiring that inventory control numbers 

2 and passport numbers be queried in lookout systems. 

3 (9) Reviewing policies that allow the return of 

4 fraudulent travel documents to those who presented 

5 them when they are sent back to their countries of 

6 origin. 

7 SEC. 323. ADDITIONAL AND CONTINUOUS TRAINING FOR 

8 INSPECTORS IN FRAUD AND IMPOSTER DE9 TECTION. 

10 (a) FRAUD DETECTION.—The Secretary of Home11 land Security shall provide inspectors conducting inspec12 tions of aliens entering the United States pursuant to the 

13 visa waiver program described in section 217 of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) with en15 hanced and continuous training in detecting imposters and 

16 in passport and document fraud detection. Additional 

17 training should be provided when any program country 

18 designated under such section makes changes in its pass19 ports. The Secretary shall report to the appropriate con20 gressional committees (as defined in section 2 of the 

21 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) on the 

22 amount and the type of training received such inspectors 

23 on detecting and handling fraudulent documents. 

24 (b) FOREIGN LANGUAGES.—The Secretary of Home25 land Security shall provide inspectors described in sub-
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1 section (a) with foreign language training in languages de2 termined to be necessary to carrying out the anti-ter3 rorism and law enforcement functions of such inspectors. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be 

6 necessary to develop the capability to scan fraudulent doc7 uments and to transmit a high quality color image to the 

8 forensic document laboratory. The Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security shall ensure that staff is available in the Forensic 

10 Document Laboratory on a 24-hour basis to assist in de11 termining the validity of the scanned document. 

12 SEC. 324. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

14 as may be necessary to carry out the functions described 

15 in this subtitle. 

16 TITLE IV—SECURING THE IMMI17 GRATION BENEFITS PROCESS 

18 SEC. 401. IMMIGRATION OMBUDSMAN. 

19 (a) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO ALL IMMIGRA20 TION FUNCTIONS.—Section 452 of the Homeland Security 

21 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 272) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Citizenship 

23 and Immigration Services’’ and inserting ‘‘Immigra24 tion’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 
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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the Bu2 reau of Citizenship and Immigration Services’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘U.S. Citizenship and Immigra4 tion Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs 

5 Enforcement, or U.S. Customs and Border Pro6 tection’’; and 

7 (B) in each of paragraphs (2) and (3), by 

8 striking ‘‘the Bureau of Citizenship and Immi9 gration Services’’ each place such term appears 

10 and inserting ‘‘such entities’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the Bu13 reau of Citizenship and Immigration Services’’ 

14 each place such term appears and inserting 

15 ‘‘the entities described in subsection (b)’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Director 

17 of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 

18 Services,’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of U.S. Citi19 zenship and Immigration Services, Assistant 

20 Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs 

21 Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protec22 tion Commissioner’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (d)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the Bu25 reau of Citizenship and Immigration Services’’ 
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1 and inserting ‘‘the entities described in sub2 section (b)’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Director 

4 of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 

5 Services,’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of U.S. Citi6 zenship and Immigration Services, Assistant 

7 Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs 

8 Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border 

9 Protection Commissioner’’; 

10 (5) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ‘‘the Bu11 reau of Citizenship and Immigration Services’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘the entities described in subsection (b)’’; 

13 (6) in subsection (f)— 

14 (A) by amending the subsection heading to 

15 read as follows: ‘‘Responsibilities.—’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘Director of the Bureau of 

17 Citizenship and Immigration Services,’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immi19 gration Services, Assistant Secretary for U.S. 

20 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 

21 the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Com22 missioner’’; and 

23 (C) by striking ‘‘director’’ each place such 

24 term appears and inserting ‘‘person’’; and 
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1 (7) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘the Bureau 

2 of Citizenship and Immigration Services’’ each place 

3 such term appears and inserting ‘‘the entities de4 scribed in subsection (b)’’. 

5 (b) PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN; PRIVATE SEC6 TOR INPUT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 452(d) of the Home8 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 272(d)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe13 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(5) shall launch a public information cam16 paign; and 

17 ‘‘(6) shall establish a group, which shall consist 

18 of private individuals, and Federal, State, and local 

19 government officials, with expertise in migration, 

20 travel, trade, or national security issues, to provide 

21 the Ombudsman with private sector input.’’. 

22 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated for such 

24 sums as may be necessary to carry out the amend25 ments made by paragraph (1). 
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1 (c) ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Sec2 tion 452(c) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

3 U.S.C. 272(c)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub7 paragraph (I); and 

8 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(G) shall state the percentage of com11 plaints that can be traced to delays in benefits 

12 processing; and 

13 ‘‘(H) shall describe the extent to which 

14 delays in benefits processing are attributable to 

15 entities outside of the Department, particularly 

16 government agencies conducting background 

17 checks.’’. 

18 SEC. 402. CIS WORKFLOW, TECHNOLOGY, AND STAFFING 

19 ASSESSMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

21 United States shall conduct a comprehensive assessment 

22 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the 

23 Department of Homeland Security. Such assessment shall 

24 include study of personnel, administrative and technical 

25 support positions, technology, training, and facilities. 
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1 (b) WORKFLOW.—As part of the study, the Comp2 troller General shall examine all elements of such unit’s 

3 workflow, in order to determine the most efficient way to 

4 handle its work without compromising security. Any obsta5 cles associated with security matters should be identified 

6 and recommendations should be made on ways to mini7 mize such obstacles without compromising security. The 

8 Comptroller General should assess the division of work, 

9 adequacy of infrastructure (particularly information tech10 nology), as well as personnel needs. 

11 (c) INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.— 

12 As part of the study, the Comptroller General shall exam13 ine the unit’s interactions with other government organi14 zations. Specifically, the Comptroller General shall deter15 mine whether existing memoranda of understanding and 

16 divisions of responsibility, especially any which pre-date 

17 the establishment of the Department of Homeland Secu18 rity, need to be revised in order to improve the bureau’s 

19 service delivery. 

20 (d) BACKLOG COST.—As part of the study, the 

21 Comptroller General shall assess the current cost of main22 taining the backlog (as defined in section 203 of the Immi23 gration Services and Infrastructure Improvements Act of 

24 2000 (8 U.S.C. 1572)). 
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1 (e) INTERVIEWS.—The Comptroller General may 

2 interview any front-line personnel, without supervisors 

3 present, to determine priorities and needs. 

4 (f) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—Aspects of this 

5 study related to information technology should be coordi6 nated with the Chief Information Officer for the Depart7 ment of Homeland Security and should build on the find8 ings of the task force established by section 3 of the Immi9 gration and Naturalization Service Data Management Im10 provement Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–215). 

11 (g) SUBMISSION.—The study should be completed 

12 not later than January 1, 2005, and shall be submitted 

13 to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 

14 State, and the appropriate congressional committees (as 

15 defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

16 (6 U.S.C. 101)). It shall include recommendations for re17 source allocation. 

18 SEC. 403. STUDY ON BIOMETRICS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity, in consultation with the Director of the National In21 stitute of Standards and Technology, shall conduct a 

22 study of all biometric identifiers that might be collected 

23 for purposes of processing and adjudicating applications 

24 and petitions for immigration benefits, and shall deter25 mine which among these identifiers would be most appro-
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1 priate for the purposes described in subsection (b). The 

2 Secretary shall provide the resources necessary properly 

3 to conduct the study. 

4 (b) USES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Sec5 retary shall consider the use of a biometric identifier— 

6 (1) to register or catalogue a petition or appli7 cation for an immigration benefit upon submission 

8 to the appropriate Federal agency; 

9 (2) to check the petitioner or applicant against 

10 watch lists; 

11 (3) as part of the integrated entry and exit data 

12 system required under section 110 of the Illegal Im13 migration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 

14 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1365a); and 

15 (4) to conduct background checks with Federal 

16 intelligence agencies. 

17 (c) FACTORS.—The Secretary shall consider the fol18 lowing factors in making the determination under sub19 section (a): 

20 (1) Accuracy 

21 (2) The technology available. 

22 (3) Economic considerations. 

23 (4) Storage. 

24 (5) Efficiency. 
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1 (d) SUBMISSION.—The study should be completed 

2 within one year of enactment, and shall be submitted to 

3 the Secretary of State and the appropriate congressional 

4 committees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Secu5 rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)). 

6 SEC. 404. DIGITIZING IMMIGRATION FUNCTIONS. 

7 (a) DIGITIZED FINGERPRINTS.—Not later than Jan8 uary 1, 2005, all fingerprints taken for purposes of adjudi9 cating an application or petition for an immigration ben10 efit shall be digitized. 

11 (b) REGISTERING APPLICATIONS BY BIOMETRIC.— 

12 Not later than January 1, 2005, all applications and peti13 tions for an immigration benefit shall be registered or 

14 catalogued by the receiving agency using a biometric iden15 tifier. Initially, such biometric identifier shall be a finger16 print. Subsequently, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 may select one or more alternative biometric identifiers to 

18 be used for such purposes, taking into account factors 

19 such as efficiency, accuracy, the technology available, eco20 nomic considerations, and storage requirements. 

21 SEC. 405. STUDY ON DIGITIZING IMMIGRATION BENEFIT 

22 APPLICATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

24 United States shall conduct a comprehensive study on 

25 digitizing all applications and petitions for an immigration 
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1 benefit, including digital storage, cataloguing, and the 

2 ability to apply for all types of immigration benefits 

3 through digital means. The study should consider costs for 

4 both the Federal Government and the applicant or peti5 tioner, as well as the feasibility for all types of persons 

6 to apply by digital means. 

7 (b) SUBMISSION.—The study should be completed 

8 not later than January 1, 2005, and shall be submitted 

9 to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 

10 State, and the appropriate congressional committees (as 

11 defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

12 (6 U.S.C. 101)). 

Æ