I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1250
To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996 to clarify and improve the requirements for the development
of an automated entry-exit control system, to enhance land border control
and enforcement, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 24, 1999
Mr. LAFALCE (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. METCALF, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr.
HOUGHTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. ENGLISH, Ms. LEE, Mr.
PASTOR, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. STUPAK, Mr.
HOLDEN, and Mrs. MINK of Hawaii) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 to clarify and improve the
requirements for the development of an automated entry-
exit control system, to enhance land border control and
enforcement, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Improvement
and Immigration Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION RE-
FORM AND IMMIGRANT RESPONSIBILITY ACT
OF 1996.
Section 110(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1221
note) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) SYSTEM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3),
not later than October 15, 1998, the Attorney Gen-
eral shall develop an automated entry and exit con-
trol system at air ports-of-entry that will—
‘‘(A) collect a record of departure for every
alien departing the United States and match
the record of departure with the record of the
alien’s arrival in the United States; and
‘‘(B) enable the Attorney General to iden-
tify, through on-line searching procedures, law-
fully admitted nonimmigrants who remain in
the United States beyond the period authorized
by the Attorney General.
‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Attorney General
shall fully implement the system developed under
paragraph (1) at all air ports-of-entry into the
United States not later than October 1, 2001. The
Attorney General may not implement the system at
any land border or seaport.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The system under para-
graphs (1) and (2) shall not collect a record of ar-
rival or departure for any alien for whom the docu-
mentary requirements in section 212(a)(7)(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act have been waived
by the Attorney General and the Secretary of State
under section 212(d)(4)(B) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act.’’.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON AUTOMATED ENTRY-EXIT CONTROL
SYSTEM.
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of
the Senate and the House of Representatives on the feasi-
bility of developing and implementing an automated entry-
exit control system that would collect a record of depar-
ture for every alien departing the United States and match
the record of departure with the record of the alien’s ar-
rival in the United States, including departures and arriv-
als at the land borders and seaports of the United States.
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Such report shall—
(1) assess the costs and feasibility of various
means of operating such an automated entry-exit
control system, including exploring—
(A) how, if the automated entry-exit con-
trol system were limited to certain aliens arriv-
ing at airports, departure records of those
aliens could be collected when they depart
through a land border or seaport; and
(B) the feasibility of the Attorney General,
in consultation with the Secretary of State, ne-
gotiating reciprocal agreements with the gov-
ernments of contiguous countries to collect such
information on behalf of the United States and
share it in an acceptable automated format;
(2) consider the various means of developing
such a system, including the use of pilot projects if
appropriate, and assess which means would be most
appropriate in which geographical regions;
(3) evaluate how such a system could be imple-
mented without increasing border traffic congestion
and border crossing delays and, if any such system
would increase border crossing delays, evaluate to
what extent such congestion or delays would in-
crease; and
(4) estimate the length of time that would be
required for any such system to be developed and
implemented.
SEC. 4. INCREASED RESOURCES FOR BORDER CONTROL
AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) INCREASED NUMBER OF INS INSPECTORS AT
THE LAND BORDERS.—The Attorney General in each of
fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002 shall increase by not
less than 300 the number of full-time immigration inspec-
tors assigned to active duty at the land borders of the
United States by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, above the number of such positions for which
funds were made available for the preceding fiscal year.
The inspectors added under the preceding sentence in each
fiscal year shall be assigned equally to the northern and
southern borders of the United States.
(b) INCREASED NUMBER OF CUSTOMS INSPECTORS
AT THE LAND BORDERS.—The Secretary of the Treasury
in each of fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002 shall increase
by not less than 150 the number of full-time inspectors
assigned to active duty at the land borders of the United
States by the Customs Service, above the number of such
positions for which funds were made available for the pre-
ceding fiscal year. The inspectors added under the pre-
ceding sentence in each fiscal year shall be assigned equal-
ly to the northern and southern borders of the United
States.
Æ