(1) more than 20,000,000 people currently liv-
ing in the United States trace their roots to Mexico, 
and Mexican-Americans represent one of the fastest 
growing population groups in this country; 
(2) people of Hispanic descent have made sig-
nificant contributions in all areas of American life; 
(3) Hispanic-Americans, their ancestors, and 
other cultural groups on both sides of the border 
have a rich history that must be preserved and told 
for the benefit of current and future generations of 
Americans; 
(4) the histories of the many individuals and 
families, who came from many different backgrounds 
and who faced hardship and adversity as they mi-
grated in search of better lives for themselves and 
their descendants, need to be better documented and 
incorporated into the larger history of the United 
States; 
(5) the histories of these courageous people re-
flect the strong relationship between the people of 
the United States and the people of Mexico; 
(6) there is no museum dedicated to the history 
of migration at the United States southern border;
(7) historically, El Paso, Texas, has been the 
largest port of entry for people immigrating to the 
United States from Mexico; 
(8) El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the 
Royal Road of the Interior) passes through El Paso 
and served as the primary route between the colonial 
Spanish capital of Mexico City and the Spanish Pro-
vincial capitals San Juan de los Caballeros, San Ga-
briel, and Santa Fe, all part of the present day 
United States; 
(9) El Paso and its sister city, Ciudad Juarez, 
Mexico, together form the largest international bor-
der city; 
(10) the University of Texas at El Paso, a ma-
jority of whose students are Mexican-American, is 
coordinating a national effort to create in El Paso 
a national museum dedicated to preserving the his-
tory of people who, for many centuries, have moved 
between Mexico and territories that are now part of 
the United States; and 
(11) the City of El Paso has made the estab-
lishment of the Paso al Norte National Museum of 
Immigration History a priority in an effort to draw 
large numbers of visitors as part of its plan for revi-
talization and development.
SEC. 3. PASO AL NORTE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IMMIGRA-
TION HISTORY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—If land is made available to 
or by the University of Texas at El Paso as described in 
subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior shall make 
a grant under section 4 for the establishment of the Paso 
al Norte National Museum of Immigration History (re-
ferred to in this Act as ‘‘the museum’’), a museum and 
research center for the interpretation and commemoration 
of migration at the United States southern border. 
(b) LAND.—The land referred to in subsection (a) is 
land within the boundary of the city of El Paso, Texas, 
either made available by the University of Texas at El 
Paso, or, if the university agrees to the location, by the 
city of El Paso or by any other entity. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT GRANT. 
(a) GRANT.—The Secretary of the Interior shall, 
within 90 days after receiving a proposal meeting the re-
quirements of subsection (b), award a grant to the Univer-
sity of Texas at El Paso for the establishment of the mu-
seum, including planning, design, construction, furnishing, 
and startup expenses. 
(b) GRANT PROPOSAL.—In order to receive a grant 
under this section the University of Texas at El Paso, in 
agreement with the city of El Paso, shall, not later than 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, trans-
mit to the Secretary of the Interior a proposal that in-
cludes—
(1) a designation of land made available for the 
museum as described in section 3(b); 
(2) plans detailing the location and function of 
each museum facility; 
(3) plans for design and construction that will 
meet all applicable Federal, State, and local building 
codes and laws, and that are in accordance with pro-
fessional museum standards; 
(4) a timetable for completion of construction 
and opening of the museum before October 1, 2007; 
(5) detailed plans concerning the operation and 
maintenance of the museum; 
(6) a description of proposed museum collec-
tions and educational programming; and 
(7) a plan for the design of exhibits, including 
collections to be exhibited, preservation, protection, 
environmental controls, security, and presentations 
in accordance with professional museum standards. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of the Interior $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2005 through 2008, to carry out this Act. All sums au-
thorized to be appropriated shall remain available for ex-
penditure through fiscal year 2008.
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