SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alien Smuggling and 
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Alien smuggling by land, air and sea is a 
transnational crime that violates the integrity of 
United States borders, compromises our Nation’s 
sovereignty, places the country at risk of terrorist 
activity, and contravenes the rule of law. 
(2) Aggressive enforcement activity against 
alien smuggling is needed to protect our borders and 
ensure the security of our Nation. The border secu-
rity and anti-smuggling efforts of the men and 
women on the Nation’s front line of defense are to 
be commended. Special recognition is due the De-
partment of Homeland Security through the United 
States Border Patrol, United States Coast Guard, 
Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of 
Justice through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
(3) The law enforcement community must be 
given the statutory tools necessary to address this 
security threat. Only through effective alien smug-
gling statutes can the Justice Department, through 
the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Domes-
tic Security Section of the Criminal Division, pros-
ecute these cases successfully. 
(4) Alien smuggling has a destabilizing effect 
on border communities. State and local law enforce-
ment, medical personnel, social service providers, 
and the faith community play important roles in 
combating smuggling and responding to its effects. 
(5) Existing penalties for alien smuggling are 
insufficient to provide appropriate punishment for 
alien smugglers. 
(6) Existing alien smuggling laws often fail to 
reach the conduct of alien smugglers, transporters, 
recruiters, guides, and boat captains. 
(7) Existing laws concerning failure to heave to 
are insufficient to appropriately punish boat opera-
tors and crew who engage in the reckless transpor-
tation of aliens on the high seas and seek to evade 
capture. 
(8) Much of the conduct in alien smuggling 
rings 
occurs 
outside 
of 
the 
United 
States. 
Extraterritorial jurisdiction is needed to ensure that 
smuggling rings can be brought to justice for re-
cruiting, sending, and facilitating the movement of 
those who seek to enter the United States without 
lawful authority.
(9) Alien smuggling can include unsafe or reck-
lessly dangerous conditions that expose individuals 
to particularly high risk of injury or death. 
SEC. 3. CHECKS AGAINST TERRORIST WATCHLIST. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, to the ex-
tent practicable, check against all available terrorist 
watchlists those persons suspected of alien smuggling and 
smuggled individuals who are interdicted at the land, air, 
and sea borders of the United States. 
SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT 
OF ALIEN SMUGGLERS. 
Section 274(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)) is amended— 
(1) by amending the subsection heading to read 
as follows: ‘‘BRINGING IN, HARBORING, AND SMUG-
GLING OF UNLAWFUL AND TERRORIST ALIENS.—’’; 
(2) by amending paragraphs (1) through (2) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(1)(A) Whoever, knowing or in reckless disregard of 
the fact that an individual is an alien who lacks lawful 
authority to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, 
knowingly— 
‘‘(i) brings that individual to the United States 
in any manner whatsoever regardless of any future
official action which may be taken with respect to 
such individual; 
‘‘(ii) recruits, encourages, or induces that indi-
vidual to come to, enter, or reside in the United 
States; 
‘‘(iii) transports or moves that individual in the 
United States, in furtherance of their unlawful pres-
ence; or 
‘‘(iv) harbors, conceals, or shields from detec-
tion the individual in any place in the United States, 
including any building or any means of transpor-
tation; 
or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as 
provided in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(B) Whoever, knowing that an individual is an alien, 
brings that individual to the United States in any manner 
whatsoever at a place, other than a designated port of 
entry or place designated by the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, regardless of whether such individual has re-
ceived prior official authorization to come to, enter, or re-
side in the United States and regardless of any future offi-
cial action which may be taken with respect to such indi-
vidual, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished 
as provided in subparagraph (C).
‘‘(C) Whoever commits an offense under this para-
graph shall, for each individual in respect to whom such 
a violation occurs— 
‘‘(i) if the offense results in the death of any 
person, be fined under title 18, United States Code, 
and subject to the penalty of death or imprisonment 
for any term of years or for life; 
‘‘(ii) if the offense involves kidnapping, an at-
tempt to kidnap, the conduct required for aggra-
vated sexual abuse (as defined in section 2241 of 
title 18, United States Code, without regard to 
where it takes place), or an attempt to commit such 
abuse, or an attempt to kill, be fined under title 18, 
United States Code, or imprisoned for any term of 
years or life, or both; 
‘‘(iii) if the offense involves an individual who 
the defendant knew was engaged in or intended to 
engage in terrorist activity (as defined in section 
212(a)(3)(B)), be fined under title 18, United States 
Code, or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or 
both; 
‘‘(iv) if the offense results in serious bodily in-
jury (as defined in section 1365 of title 18, United 
States Code) or places in jeopardy the life of any
person, be fined under title 18, United States Code, 
or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both; 
‘‘(v) if the offense is a violation of paragraph 
(1)(A)(i) and was committed for the purpose of prof-
it, commercial advantage, or private financial gain, 
or if the offense was committed with the intent or 
reason to believe that the individual unlawfully 
brought into the United States will commit an of-
fense against the United States or any State that is 
punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year, 
be fined under title 18, United States Code, and im-
prisoned, in the case of a first or second violation, 
not less than 3 nor more than 10 years, and for any 
other violation, not less than 5 nor more than 15 
years; 
‘‘(vi) if the offense is a violation of paragraphs 
(1)(A)(ii), (iii), or (iv), or paragraph (1)(B), and 
was committed for the purpose of profit, commercial 
advantage, or private financial gain, be fined under 
title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more 
than 10 years, or both; 
‘‘(vii) if the offense involves the transit of the 
defendant’s spouse, child, sibling, parent, grand-
parent, or niece or nephew, and the offense is not 
described in any of clauses (i) through (vi), be fined
under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned 
not more than 1 year, or both; and 
‘‘(viii) in any other case, be fined under title 
18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more 
than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(2)(A) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the 
offenses described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) In a prosecution for a violation of, or an attempt 
or 
conspiracy 
to 
violate, 
subsection 
(a)(1)(A)(i), 
(a)(1)(A)(ii), or (a)(1)(B), that occurs on the high seas, 
no defense based on necessity can be raised unless the de-
fendant— 
‘‘(i) as soon as practicable, reported to the 
Coast Guard the circumstances of the necessity, and 
if a rescue is claimed, the name, description, registry 
number, and location of the vessel engaging in the 
rescue; and 
‘‘(ii) did not bring, attempt to bring, or in any 
manner intentionally facilitate the entry of any alien 
into the land territory of the United States without 
lawful authority, unless exigent circumstances ex-
isted that placed the life of that alien in danger, in 
which case the reporting requirement set forth in 
clause (i) is satisfied by notifying the Coast Guard 
as soon as practicable after delivering the alien to
emergency medical or law enforcement personnel 
ashore. 
‘‘(C) It is not a violation of, or an attempt or con-
spiracy to violate, clause (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (1)(A), 
or paragraph (1)(A)(ii) (except if a person recruits, en-
courages, or induces an alien to come to or enter the 
United States), for a religious denomination having a bona 
fide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States, 
or the agents or officer of such denomination or organiza-
tion, to encourage, invite, call, allow, or enable an alien 
who is present in the United States to perform the voca-
tion of a minister or missionary for the denomination or 
organization in the United States as a volunteer who is 
not compensated as an employee, notwithstanding the pro-
vision of room, board, travel, medical assistance, and other 
basic living expenses, provided the minister or missionary 
has been a member of the denomination for at least one 
year. 
‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 
(1)— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘United States’ means the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 
States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory 
or possession of the United States; and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘lawful authority’ means permis-
sion, authorization, or waiver that is expressly pro-
vided for in the immigration laws of the United 
States or the regulations prescribed under those 
laws and does not include any such authority se-
cured by fraud or otherwise obtained in violation of 
law or authority that has been sought but not ap-
proved.’’. 
SEC. 5. MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) PENALTIES.—Subsection (b) of section 2237 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(b) Whoever intentionally violates this section 
shall— 
‘‘(1) if the offense results in death or involves 
kidnapping, an attempt to kidnap, the conduct re-
quired for aggravated sexual abuse (as defined in 
section 2241 without regard to where it takes place), 
or an attempt to commit such abuse, or an attempt 
to kill, be fined under such title or imprisoned for 
any term of years or life, or both; 
‘‘(2) if the offense results in serious bodily in-
jury (as defined in section 1365 of this title) or
transportation under inhumane conditions, be fined 
under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, 
or both; 
‘‘(3) if the offense is committed in the course 
of a violation of section 274 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (alien smuggling); chapter 77 (peon-
age, slavery, and trafficking in persons), section 111 
(shipping), 111A (interference with vessels), 113 
(stolen property), or 117 (transportation for illegal 
sexual activity) of this title; chapter 705 (maritime 
drug law enforcement) of title 46, or title II of the 
Act of June 15, 1917 (Chapter 30; 40 Stat. 220), 
be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more 
than 10 years, or both; and 
‘‘(4) in any other case, be fined under this title 
or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.’’. 
(b) LIMITATION ON NECESSITY DEFENSE.—Section 
2237(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, 
no defense based on necessity can be raised unless the de-
fendant— 
‘‘(A) as soon as practicable upon reaching 
shore, delivered the person with respect to which the
necessity arose to emergency medical or law enforce-
ment personnel; 
‘‘(B) as soon as practicable, reported to the 
Coast Guard the circumstances of the necessity re-
sulting giving rise to the defense; and 
‘‘(C) did not bring, attempt to bring, or in any 
manner intentionally facilitate the entry of any alien, 
as that term is defined in section 101(a)(3) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 
(a)(3)), into the land territory of the United States 
without 
lawful 
authority, 
unless 
exigent 
cir-
cumstances existed that placed the life of that alien 
in danger, in which case the reporting requirement 
of subparagraph (B) is satisfied by notifying the 
Coast Guard as soon as practicable after delivering 
that person to emergency medical or law enforce-
ment personnel ashore.’’. 
(c) DEFINITION.—Section 2237(e) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: