I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1029 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and title 18, United States 
Code, to combat the crime of alien smuggling and related activities, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2009 
Mr. HILL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity, 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 amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and title 
18, United States Code, to combat the crime of alien 
smuggling and related activities, 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 ‘‘Alien Smuggling and 
Terrorism Prevention Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Alien smuggling by land, air, and sea is a 
transnational crime that— 
(A) violates the integrity of United States 
borders; 
(B) compromises the sovereignty of the 
United States; 
(C) places our Nation at risk of terrorist 
activity; and 
(D) contravenes the rule of law. 
(2) Aggressive enforcement activity against 
alien smuggling is needed to protect the borders of 
the United States and to ensure our Nation’s secu-
rity. The border security and antismuggling efforts 
of the men and women on the Nation’s front line of 
defense are commendable. Special recognition should 
be given to the Border Patrol, the Coast Guard, 
United States Customs and Border Protection, 
United States Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 
(3) The law enforcement community must be 
given the statutory tools necessary to address this 
security threat. The United States Attorneys Offices 
and the Domestic Security Section of the Criminal 
Division cannot prosecute these cases successfully 
without effective alien smuggling statutes. 
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(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. 
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(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 WATCH LIST. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, to the ex-
tent practicable, check, against all available terrorist 
watch lists, alien smugglers 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 paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1)(A) A person shall be subject to the pen-
alties described in subparagraph (D) if the person, 
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, know-
ingly— 
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‘‘(i) brings that individual to the United 
States, regardless of any future official action 
which may be taken with respect to that indi-
vidual; 
‘‘(ii) recruits, encourages, or induces that 
individual to come to, enter, or reside in the 
United States; 
‘‘(iii) transports or moves that individual 
in the United States, in furtherance of that in-
dividual’s unlawful presence; or 
‘‘(iv) harbors, conceals, or shields from de-
tection that individual in any place in the 
United States, including any building or means 
of transportation. 
‘‘(B) A person shall be subject to the penalties 
described in subparagraph (D) if the person, know-
ing that an individual is an alien, brings that indi-
vidual to the United States at a place other than a 
designated port of entry or a place designated by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, regardless of 
whether such alien has received prior official author-
ization to come to, enter, or reside in the United 
States and regardless of any future official action 
which may be taken with respect to that individual. 
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‘‘(C) A person who attempts or conspires to 
commit any offense described subparagraph (A) or 
(B) shall be subject to the same penalties as a per-
son who completes the offense. 
‘‘(D) A person who commits any offense de-
scribed in this paragraph shall, for each individual 
in respect to whom such offense occurs— 
‘‘(i) be fined under title 18, United States 
Code, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or 
both if the offense is not described in any of 
clauses (ii) through (vii); 
‘‘(ii) be fined under such title, imprisoned 
not more than 1 year, or both, if the offense in-
volved the transit of the defendant’s spouse, 
child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or niece or 
nephew and is not described in any of clauses 
(iii) through (vi); 
‘‘(iii) be fined under such title, imprisoned 
not more than 10 years, or both if the violation 
is described in clauses (ii), (iii), or (iv) of sub-
paragraph (A) or subparagraph (B) and was 
committed for the purpose of profit, commercial 
advantage, or private financial gain; 
‘‘(iv) be fined under such title and impris-
oned, in the case of a first or second violation, 
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for a term of not fewer than 3 years and not 
more than 10 years, and for any subsequent 
violation, for a term of not fewer than 5 years 
and not more than 15 years, if the offense— 
‘‘(I) is described in subparagraph 
(A)(i) and was committed for the purpose 
of profit, commercial advantage, or private 
financial gain; or 
‘‘(II) was committed with the intent 
or reason to believe that the individual un-
lawfully brought into the United States 
will commit an offense against the United 
States or any State that is punishable by 
imprisonment for more than 1 year; 
‘‘(v) be fined under such title, imprisoned 
not more than 20 years, or both if the of-
fense— 
‘‘(I) results in serious bodily injury 
(as defined in section 1365 of title 18, 
United States Code); or 
‘‘(II) places in jeopardy the life of any 
person; 
‘‘(vi) be fined under such title, imprisoned 
not more than 30 years, or both if the offense 
involved an individual who the person knew was 
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engaged in or intended to engage in terrorist 
activity (as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)); 
‘‘(vii) be fined under such title, imprisoned 
for any term of years or for life, or both if the 
offense involves kidnaping, an attempt to kid-
nap, conduct required for aggravated sexual 
abuse (as defined in section 2241 without re-
gard to where it takes place), an attempt to 
commit such abuse, or an attempt to kill; and 
‘‘(viii) fined under such title, punished by 
death or imprisoned for any term of years or 
for life, or both if the offense results in the 
death of any person.’’; and 
(3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(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 subparagraph 
(A)(i), (A)(ii), or (B) of paragraph (1), that occurs 
on the high seas, no defense based on necessity can 
be raised unless the defendant— 
‘‘(i) reported to the Coast Guard, as soon 
as practicable— 
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‘‘(I) the circumstances of the neces-
sity; and 
‘‘(II) 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 existed that placed the life of 
that alien in danger, in which case the report-
ing requirement under clause (i) is satisfied by 
notifying the Coast Guard as soon as prac-
ticable after delivering the alien to emergency 
medical or law enforcement personnel ashore. 
‘‘(C) It is not a violation of, or an attempt or 
conspiracy to violate, clause (iii) or (iv) of paragraph 
(1)(A), or paragraph (1)(A)(ii) (except if a person 
recruits, encourages, or induces an alien to come to 
or enter the United States), for a religious denomi-
nation having a bona fide nonprofit, religious organi-
zation in the United States, or the agents or officer 
of such denomination or organization, to encourage, 
invite, call, allow, or enable an alien who is present 
in the United States to perform the vocation of a 
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minister or missionary for the denomination or orga-
nization in the United States as a volunteer who is 
not compensated as an employee, notwithstanding 
the provision of room, board, travel, medical assist-
ance, and other basic living expenses, provided the 
minister or missionary has been a member of the de-
nomination for at least 1 year. 
‘‘(D) In this paragraph and in paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘lawful authority’— 
‘‘(I) means permission, authorization, 
or waiver that is expressly provided for in 
the immigration laws of the United States 
or the regulations prescribed under those 
laws; and 
‘‘(II) does not include any such au-
thority secured by fraud or otherwise ob-
tained in violation of law or authority that 
has been sought but not approved. 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘United States’ means the 
several States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Amer-
ican Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and every other territory and possession 
of the United States.’’. 
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SEC. 5. MARITIME LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) PENALTIES.—Section 2237(b) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), any 
person who intentionally violates this section shall, be 
fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 
years, or both. 
‘‘(2)(A) A person described in paragraph (1) shall be 
fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 10 
years, or both if the violation is committed in the course 
of a violation of— 
‘‘(i) section 274 of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (alien smuggling); 
‘‘(ii) chapter 77 (peonage, slavery, and traf-
ficking in persons), section 111 (shipping), 111A 
(interference with vessels), 113 (stolen property), or 
117 (transportation for illegal sexual activity) of this 
title; 
‘‘(iii) chapter 705 (maritime drug law enforce-
ment) of title 46; or 
‘‘(iv) title II of the Act of June 15, 1917 (40 
Stat. 220). 
‘‘(B) A person described in paragraph (1) shall be 
fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, 
or both if the violation results in serious bodily injury (as 
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defined in section 1365) or transportation under inhu-
mane conditions. 
‘‘(C) A person described in paragraph (1) shall be 
fined under this title, imprisoned for any term of years 
or for life, or both if the violation— 
‘‘(i) results in death; or 
‘‘(ii) involves kidnaping, an attempt to kidnap, 
the conduct required for aggravated sexual abuse (as 
defined in section 2241 without regard to where it 
takes place), an attempt to commit such abuse, or 
an attempt to kill.’’. 
(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 
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‘‘(C) did not bring, attempt to bring, or in in-
tentionally facilitate the entry of any alien (as de-
fined 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 author-
ity, unless exigent circumstances existed that placed 
the life of that alien in danger, in which case the re-
porting requirement under subparagraph (B) is sat-
isfied by notifying the Coast Guard as soon as prac-
ticable after delivering that person to emergency 
medical or law enforcement personnel ashore.’’. 
(c) DEFINITION.—Section 2237(e) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 
paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) the term ‘transportation under inhumane 
conditions’ means— 
‘‘(A) transportation of persons in an en-
gine compartment, storage compartment, or 
other confined space; 
‘‘(B) transportation at an excessive speed; 
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‘‘(C) transportation of a number of per-
sons in excess of the rated capacity of the 
means of transportation; or 
‘‘(D) intentionally grounding a vessel in 
which persons are being transported.’’. 
SEC. 6. AMENDMENT TO THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to its authority under 
section 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in accord-
ance with this section, the United States Sentencing Com-
mission shall review and, if appropriate, amend the sen-
tencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to per-
sons convicted of alien smuggling offenses and criminal 
failure to heave to or obstruction of boarding. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this section, 
the Sentencing Commission, shall— 
(1) consider providing sentencing enhancements 
or stiffening existing enhancements for those con-
victed of offenses described in paragraph (1) that— 
(A) involve a pattern of continued and fla-
grant violations; 
(B) are part of an ongoing commercial or-
ganization or enterprise; 
(C) involve aliens who were transported in 
groups of 10 or more; 
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