160 
the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other terri-
tory or possession of the United States. 
(7) The term ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ and 
‘‘vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States’’ have the same meanings given those terms in 
section 2 of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act 
(46 U.S.C. App. 1903). 
SEC. 1204. MARITIME ALIEN SMUGGLING. 
(a) OFFENSE.—For purposes of enforcing Federal 
laws, including those that pertain to port, maritime, or 
land border security, no person on board a vessel of the 
United States or a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the 
United States, or who is a citizen or national of the United 
States or an alien who is paroled into or is a resident of 
the United States on board any vessel, shall assist, encour-
age, direct, induce, transport, move, harbor, conceal, or 
shield from detection an individual in transit from one 
country to another on the high seas, knowing or in reckless 
disregard of the fact that such individual is an alien, 
known, or suspected terrorist, or an individual seeking to 
commit terrorist activity, seeking to enter the United States 
without official permission or lawful authority. 
(b) ATTEMPT OR CONSPIRACY.—Any person who at-
tempts or conspires to commit a violation of this title shall 
be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the 
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violation, the commission of which was the object of the at-
tempt or conspiracy. 
(c) JURISDICTION AND SCOPE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Jurisdiction of the United 
States with respect to vessels and persons subject to 
this section is not an element of any offense. All juris-
dictional issues arising under this section are pre-
liminary questions of law to be determined solely by 
the trial judge. 
(2) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—There is 
extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over the offenses 
described in this section. 
(3) NONAPPLICABILITY
TO
LAWFUL
ACTIVI-
TIES.—Nothing in this title shall apply to otherwise 
lawful activities carried out by or at the direction of 
the United States Government. 
(d) CLAIM OF FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH INTER-
NATIONAL LAW; JURISDICTION OF COURT.—Any person 
charged with a violation of this title shall not have standing 
to raise the claim of failure to comply with international 
law as a basis for a defense. A claim of failure to comply 
with international law in the enforcement of this title may 
be invoked solely by a foreign nation, and a failure to com-
ply with international law shall not divest a court of juris-
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diction or otherwise constitute a defense to any proceeding 
under this title. 
(e) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It shall be an affirma-
tive defense to a violation of this section, as to which the 
defendant has the burden of proof by a preponderance of 
the evidence, that prior to the alleged violation the defend-
ant rescued the alien at sea, if the defendant— 
(1) immediately reported to the Coast Guard the 
circumstances of the rescue, and the name, descrip-
tion, registry number, and location of the rescuing 
vessel; and 
(2) did not bring or attempt to bring the alien 
into the land territory of the United States without 
official permission or lawful authority, unless exigent 
circumstances existed that placed the life of the alien 
in danger, in which case the defendant must have re-
ported to the Coast Guard the information required 
by paragraph (1) of this subsection immediately upon 
delivering that alien to emergency medical personnel 
ashore. 
(f) ADMISSIBILITY
OF EVIDENCE.—Notwithstanding 
any provision of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the testi-
mony of Coast Guard personnel and official records of the 
Coast Guard, offered to show either that the defendant did 
not report immediately the information required by sub-
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section (e) or the absence of any such report by the defend-
ant, shall be admissible, and the jury shall be instructed, 
upon request of the United States, that it may draw an 
inference from such records or testimony in deciding wheth-
er the defendant reported as required by subsection (e). 
(g) ADMISSIBILITY OF VIDEOTAPED WITNESS TESTI-
MONY.—Notwithstanding any provision of the Federal 
Rules of Evidence, the videotaped (or otherwise audio-
visually or electronically preserved) deposition of a witness 
to any alleged violation of subsection (a) of this section who 
has been repatriated, removed, extradited, or otherwise ex-
pelled from or denied admission to the United States or 
who is otherwise unable to testify may be admitted into evi-
dence in an action brought for that violation if the witness 
was available for cross examination at the deposition and 
the deposition otherwise complies with the Federal Rules of 
Evidence. 
(h) PENALTIES.—A person who commits any violation 
under this section shall— 
(1) be imprisoned for not less than 3 years and 
not more than 20 years, fined not more than 
$100,000, or both; 
(2) in a case in which the violation furthers or 
aids the commission of any other criminal offense 
against the United States or any State for which the 
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164 
offense is punishable by imprisonment for more than 
1 year, be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and 
not more than 20 years, fined not more than 
$100,000, or both; 
(3) in a case in which any participant in the 
violation created a substantial risk of death or serious 
bodily injury to another person (including, but not 
limited to, transporting a person in a shipping con-
tainer, storage compartment, or other confined space 
or at a speed in excess of the rated capacity of the 
vessel), be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and 
not more than 20 years, fined not more than 
$100,000, or both; 
(4) in a case in which the violation caused seri-
ous bodily injury to any person, regardless of where 
the injury occurred, be imprisoned for not less than 
7 years and not more than 30 years, fined not more 
than $500,000, or both; 
(5) in a case in which the violation involved an 
alien who the offender knew or had reason to believe 
was an alien engaged in terrorist activity or intend-
ing to engage in terrorist activity, be imprisoned for 
not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years, 
fined not more than $500,000, or both; and 
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