I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2672
To direct the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
to establish a program to enhance the mutual security and safety of 
the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 26, 2005
Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mr. PEARCE, and Mr. SHAYS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Rela-
tions, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services and Home-
land Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Home-
land Security to establish a program to enhance the 
mutual security and safety of the United States, Canada, 
and Mexico, 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 ‘‘North American Coop-
erative Security Act’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE OF NORTH AMERICAN SECURITY INITIA-
TIVE. 
The Secretary of State shall enhance the mutual se-
curity and safety of the United States, Canada, and Mex-
ico by providing a framework for better management, com-
munication, and coordination between the governments of 
such countries. 
SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON 
NORTH AMERICAN SECURITY. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than six months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and every six months there-
after, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of De-
fense, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees listed under subsection (b) a joint report described 
under subsection (c) that contains a description of the ef-
forts to carry out this Act. 
(b) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—
The appropriate congressional committees referred to in 
subsection (a) are the following: 
(1) The Committee on International Relations 
of the House of Representatives. 
(2) The Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate. 
(3) The Committee on Homeland Security of 
the House of Representatives.
(4) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
(5) The Committee on Armed Services of the 
House of Representatives. 
(6) The Committee on Armed Services of the 
Senate. 
(c) CONTENTS.—A report submitted under sub-
section (a) shall contain a description of each of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) 
SECURITY
AND
THE
MOVEMENT
OF 
GOODS.—The progress of the development and ex-
pansion of public-private partnerships to secure the 
supply chain of goods coming into North America 
and to expedite the movement of low-risk goods, in-
cluding the status of—
(A) the Fast and Secure Trade program 
(referred to in this subsection as ‘‘FAST pro-
gram’’) at major international border crossings 
between the United States and Canada, and the 
progress made in implementing the FAST pro-
gram at all remaining international commercial 
border crossings between the United States and 
Canada, Mexico; 
(B) marketing programs by the Depart-
ment of State and the Department of Home-
land Security to promote enrollment by eligible 
individuals and companies in the FAST pro-
gram; 
(C) ways and means of increasing partici-
pation in the FAST program; and 
(D) the implementation of the FAST pro-
gram at international border crossings between 
the United States and Mexico. 
(2) CARGO
SECURITY
AND
MOVEMENT
OF 
GOODS.—The progress made in developing and im-
plementing a North American cargo security strat-
egy that creates a common security perimeter 
around the United States, Canada, and Mexico by 
enhancing technical assistance for programs and sys-
tems to support advance reporting and risk manage-
ment of cargo data, improved integrity measures 
through automated collection of fees, and advance 
technology to rapidly screen cargo. 
(3) BORDER WAIT TIMES.—The progress made 
by the Secretary of State and Secretary of Home-
land Security, in consultation with national, provin-
cial, and municipal governments, to—
(A) reduce waiting times at international 
border crossings through low-risk land ports of 
entry facilitating programs, including the status
of the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers 
Rapid Inspection program (referred to in this 
section as the ‘‘SENTRI program’’) and the 
NEXUS program—
(B) measure and report wait times for 
commercial and non-commercial traffic at the 
land ports of the United States, Canada, and 
Mexico, and establish compatible performance 
standards for operating under normal security 
alert conditions; and 
(C) identify, develop, and deploy new tech-
nologies to—
(i) further advance the shared security 
goals of the United States, Canada, and 
Mexico; and 
(ii) promote the legitimate flow of 
both people and goods across these inter-
national borders. 
(4) BORDER
INFRASTRUCTURE.—Efforts to 
pursue joint investments in and protection of border 
infrastructure, including—
(A) priority ports of entry; 
(B) plans to expand dedicated lanes and 
approaches and improve border infrastructure
in order to meet the objectives of the FAST 
program; 
(C) the development of a strategic plan for 
expanding the number of dedicated FAST pro-
gram lanes at major crossings at the inter-
national border between the United States and 
Mexico; and 
(D) an inventory of border transportation 
infrastructure at major transportation corridors 
between the United States and Canada and the 
United States and Mexico. 
(5) SECURITY CLEARANCES AND DOCUMENT IN-
TEGRITY.—The development of enrollment, security, 
technical, and biometric standards for the issuance, 
authentication, and validation of secure documents, 
including—
(A) technical and biometric standards 
based on best practices and consistent with 
international standards for the issuance, au-
thentication, and validation of travel docu-
ments, including—
(i) passports; 
(ii) visas; and 
(iii) permanent resident cards;
(B) working with Canada and Mexico to 
encourage foreign countries to enact laws con-
trolling alien smuggling and trafficking, the use 
and manufacture of fraudulent travel docu-
ments, and information sharing; 
(C) applying incentives and support to en-
sure that other countries meet proper travel 
document standards and are equally committed 
to travel document verification before transit to 
other countries, including the United States; 
and 
(D) providing technical assistance to Can-
ada and Mexico for the development and main-
tenance of a national database built upon iden-
tified best practices for biometric standards as-
sociated with visa and travel documents. 
(6) IMMIGRATION
AND
VISA
MANAGEMENT.—
The progress on efforts to share information con-
cerning high-risk individuals who might attempt to 
travel to the United States, Canada, or Mexico, in-
cluding—
(A) immigration lookout data on high risk 
individuals through the implementation of the 
Statement of Mutual Understanding on Infor-
mation Sharing, that was signed by the United 
States and Canada in February 2003; and 
(B) immigration fraud trends and analysis, 
including asylum and document fraud. 
(7) VISA POLICY COORDINATION AND IMMIGRA-
TION SECURITY.—The progress made by the United 
States, Canada, and Mexico to enhance North Amer-
ican security by cooperating on visa policies and 
identifying best practices regarding immigration se-
curity, including—
(A) enhancing consultation among visa 
issuing officials at consulates or embassies of 
the 
United 
States, 
Canada, 
and 
Mexico 
throughout the world to share information, 
trends, and best practices on visa flows; 
(B) comparing the procedures and policies 
of the United States and Canada with respect 
to visitor visa processing, including—
(i) application processes; 
(ii) interview policies; 
(iii) general screening procedures; 
(iv) visa validities; 
(v) quality control measures; and 
(vi) access to appeal or review of such 
procedures and policies;
(C) converging the list of visa waiver coun-
tries; 
(D) providing technical assistance for the 
development and maintenance of a national 
database built upon identified best practices for 
biometric standards associated with immigra-
tion violators; 
(E) developing and implementing a North 
American immigration security strategy that 
works toward the development of a common se-
curity perimeter by enhancing technical assist-
ance for programs and systems to support ad-
vance automated reporting and risk targeting of 
international passengers; 
(F) the progress made toward sharing in-
formation concerning lost and stolen passports 
on a real-time basis among immigration or law 
enforcement officials of the United States, Can-
ada, and Mexico; and 
(G) the progress made by the Department 
of State in collecting ten fingerprints from all 
visa applicants. 
(8) NORTH AMERICAN VISITOR OVERSTAY PRO-
GRAM.—The progress made to implement parallel
entry and exit tracking systems between the United 
States and Canada—
(A) to share information on third country 
nationals who have overstayed in either country; 
and 
(B) that respect the privacy laws of each 
such country. 
(9) TERRORIST
WATCH
LISTS.—The progress 
made to enhance the capacity of the United States 
to combat terrorism through the coordination of 
counterterrorism efforts, including—
(A) establishing bilateral agreements be-
tween the United States and Canada and be-
tween the United States and Mexico to govern 
the sharing of terrorist watch list data and to 
comprehensively enumerate the uses of such 
data by the United States, Canada, and Mexico; 
(B) establishing appropriate linkages be-
tween the United States Terrorist Screening 
Center and both Canada and Mexico; and 
(C) working to explore and negotiate with 
foreign governments concerning the establish-
ment of a multilateral watch list mechanism 
that would facilitate direct coordination between 
a country that identifies an individual as an in-
dividual included on a watch list, and a country 
that owns such list, including procedures that 
satisfy the security concerns and are consistent 
with the privacy and other laws of each partici-
pating country. 
(10) MONEY LAUNDERING, INCOME TAX EVA-
SION, CURRENCY
SMUGGLING, AND
ALIEN
SMUG-
GLING.—The progress made to improve information 
sharing and law enforcement cooperation in orga-
nized crime, including—
(A) in areas of currency smuggling, money 
laundering, alien smuggling and trafficking in 
alcohol, firearms, and explosives; 
(B) 
implementing 
the 
Canada-United 
States Firearms Trafficking Action Plan; 
(C) the feasibility of formulating a fire-
arms trafficking action plan between the United 
States and Mexico; 
(D) developing a joint threat assessment 
on organized crime between the United States 
and Canada; 
(E) the feasibility of formulating a joint 
threat assessment on organized crime between 
the United States and Mexico;
(F) developing mechanisms to exchange in-
formation on findings, seizures, and captures of 
individuals transporting undeclared currency; 
and 
(G) developing and implementing a plan to 
combat the transnational threat of illegal drug 
trafficking. 
(11) 
COUNTERTERRORISM
PROGRAMS.—En-
hancements to counterterrorism coordination, includ-
ing—
(A) reviewing existing counterterrorism ef-
forts and coordination between United States, 
Canada, and Mexico to maximize effectiveness; 
and 
(B) identifying best practices regarding the 
sharing of information and intelligence with 
United States, Canada, and Mexico. 
(12) LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION.—The 
enhancement of law enforcement cooperation be-
tween United States, Canada, and Mexico through 
enhanced technical assistance for the development 
and maintenance of a national database built upon 
identified best practices for biometric standards as-
sociated with known or suspected criminals or ter-
rorists, including—
(A) exploring the formation of law enforce-
ment teams that include personnel from the 
United States and Mexico, and appropriate pro-
cedures from such teams; and 
(B) assessing the threat and risk of the 
use of the St. Lawrence Seaway System, the 
Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico by known 
or suspected criminals or terrorists and devel-
oping appropriate marine enforcement pro-
grams based on the integrated border team 
framework. 
(13) 
BIOSECURITY
COOPERATION.—The 
progress made to increase and promote cooperation 
between United States, Canada, and Mexico in the 
analysis and assessments of intentional threats to 
biosecurity, naturally occurring threats to biosecu-
rity, and the prevention and response capacity of the 
United States to respond to such threats, includ-
ing—
(A) mapping relationships among key reg-
ulatory and border officials to ensure effective 
cooperation in planning and responding to a 
biosecurity threat; and 
(B) working jointly with Mexico and Can-
ada in support of the Public Health Security
and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response 
Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–188; 116 Stat. 
594) to develop a regime that employs a risk 
management approach to the movement of 
foods and food products in the United States, 
Canada, and Mexico and across the borders of 
such countries, and which builds upon and har-
monizes with customs processes. 
(14) PROTECTION AGAINST NUCLEAR AND RA-
DIOLOGICAL THREATS.—The progress made to in-
crease cooperation between the United States, Can-
ada, and Mexico to prevent nuclear and radiological 
smuggling, including—
(A) identifying opportunities to increase 
cooperation to prevent smuggling of nuclear or 
radioactive materials, including improving ex-
port controls for all materials identified on the 
high-risk sources list maintained by the Inter-
national Atomic Energy Agency; 
(B) working collectively with other coun-
tries to install radiation detection equipment at 
foreign land crossings to examine cargo des-
tined for the United States, Canada, or Mexico;
(C) enhancing border controls through ef-
fective technical cooperation and other forms of 
cooperation to—
(i) prevent the smuggling of radio-
logical materials; and 
(ii) examine related next-generation 
equipment; 
(D) enhancing physical protection of nu-
clear facilities in the United States, Canada, 
and Mexico through effective technical and 
other forms of cooperation; and 
(E) developing a program for physical pro-
tection for nuclear installations in Mexico that 
increases the level of the nuclear security cul-
ture of those individuals responsible for the 
physical protection of nuclear installations and 
the transport of nuclear material. 
(15) EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT
COOPERA-
TION.—The progress made regarding the appro-
priate coordination of systems between the United 
States, Canada, and Mexico for planning and oper-
ational standards for emergency management, in-
cluding the development of an interoperable commu-
nications system or the appropriate coordination of
existing systems for such countries for cross-border 
incident management. 
(16) 
COOPERATIVE
ENERGY
POLICY.—The 
progress of efforts to—
(A) increase reliable energy supplies for 
the needs and development of the United 
States, Canada, and Mexico; 
(B) streamline and update regulations con-
cerning energy; 
(C) promote energy efficiency, conserva-
tion, and technologies; 
(D) work with Canada and Mexico to de-
velop a North American energy alliance to bol-
ster the collective security of the United States, 
Canada, and Mexico by increased reliance on 
North American energy sources; and 
(E) work with Mexico to—
(i) increase Mexico’s crude oil and 
natural gas production by obtaining the 
technology and financial resources needed 
by Mexico for energy sector development; 
(ii) attract sufficient private direct in-
vestment in the upstream sector, within 
the constitutional framework of Mexico, to
foster the development of additional crude 
oil and natural gas production; and 
(iii) attract sufficient private direct 
investment in the downstream sector, with-
in the domestic legal framework of Mexico, 
to foster the development of additional do-
mestic refining capacity to reduce costs for 
consumers and to move Mexico toward 
self-sufficiency in meeting its domestic en-
ergy needs. 
(17) FEASIBILITY OF COMMON EXTERNAL TAR-
IFF AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO THE ECON-
OMY OF MEXICO.—The progress of efforts to deter-
mine the feasibility of—
(A) harmonizing external tariffs with Mex-
ico on a sector-by-sector basis to the lowest pre-
vailing rate consistent with multilateral obliga-
tions, with the goal of creating a long-term 
common external tariff; 
(B) accelerating and expanding the imple-
mentation of existing smart border actions 
plans to facilitate intra-North American travel 
and commerce;
(C) working with Mexican authorities to 
devise policies designed to stimulate the Mexi-
can economy that—
(i) attracts investment; 
(ii) stimulates growth; and 
(iii) commands broad public support 
and provides for Mexicans to find jobs in 
Mexico; and 
(D) working to support the development of 
Mexican industries, job growth, and appropriate 
improvements to social services. 
SEC. 4. INFORMATION SHARING AGREEMENTS. 
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security and the appropriate officials 
representing the Government of Mexico, is authorized to 
negotiate an agreement with Mexico to—
(1) cooperate in impeding the ability of third 
country nationals from using Mexico as a transit 
corridor for unauthorized entry into the United 
States; and 
(2) provide technical assistance to support 
stronger immigration control at the border with 
Mexico.
SEC. 5. IMPROVING THE SECURITY OF MEXICO’S SOUTH-
ERN BORDER. 
(a) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 
State, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, appropriate officials representing the Canadian De-
partment of Foreign Affairs, and appropriate officials rep-
resenting the Government of Mexico, shall establish a pro-
gram to—
(1) assess the specific needs of Guatemala and 
Belize in maintaining the security of the borders of 
such countries; 
(2) use the assessment made under paragraph 
(1) to determine the financial and technical support 
needed by Guatemala and Belize from the United 
States, Canada, and Mexico to meet such needs; 
(3) provide technical assistance to Guatemala 
and Belize to secure issuance of passports and travel 
documents by such countries; and 
(4) encourage Guatemala and Belize to—
(A) control alien smuggling and traf-
ficking; 
(B) prevent the use and manufacture of 
fraudulent travel documents; and 
(C) share relevant information with the 
United States, Canada, and Mexico.
(b) IMMIGRATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, in consultation with the Secretary of State, appro-
priate officials representing the Government of Guate-
mala, and appropriate officials representing the Govern-
ment of Belize, shall provide robust law enforcement as-
sistance to Guatemala and Belize that specifically address-
es migratory issues to increase the ability of Guatemala 
and Belize to dismantle human smuggling organizations 
and gain tighter control over the shared border between 
Guatemala and Mexico and Belize and Mexico. 
(c) BORDER SECURITY BETWEEN MEXICO AND GUA-
TEMALA AND BELIZE.—The Secretary of State, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the ap-
propriate officials representing the Government of Mexico, 
appropriate officials representing the Government of Gua-
temala, and appropriate officials representing the Govern-
ment of Belize shall establish a program to provide needed 
equipment, technical assistance, and vehicles to manage, 
regulate, and patrol the international border between Mex-
ico and Guatemala and between Mexico and Belize. 
(d) TRACKING CENTRAL AMERICAN GANGS.—The 
Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, appropriate officials representing the 
Government of Mexico, appropriate officials representing
the Government of Guatemala, appropriate officials rep-
resenting the Government of Belize, and appropriate offi-
cials representing the governments of other Central Amer-
ican countries, shall—
(1) assess the direct and indirect impact on the 
United States and the countries of Central America 
as a result of deporting from the United States vio-
lent criminal aliens back to such countries; 
(2) establish a program and database to track 
Central American gang activities, focusing on the 
identification of returning criminal deportees; 
(3) devise an agreed-upon mechanism for notifi-
cation to such countries regarding such deportations 
prior to deportation and for support for reintegra-
tion of deportees; and 
(4) devise an agreement to share all relevant in-
formation with the appropriate government agencies 
of Mexico and the appropriate government agencies 
of such countries. 
(e) AERIAL INTERDICTION OF NARCOTRAFFICKING 
THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA AND PANAMA.—The Sec-
retary of State shall examine the feasibility of entering 
into an agreement with Panama and with other Central 
American countries regarding the establishment of an aer-
ial interdiction program that in similar contexts is com-
monly referred to as ‘‘Airbridge Denial’’. 
SEC. 6. NORTH AMERICAN DEFENSE INSTITUTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of State, shall examine the 
feasibility of—
(1) strengthening institutions for consultations 
on defense issues among the United States, Canada, 
and Mexico specifically through—
(A) the Joint Interagency Task Force 
South; 
(B) the Permanent Joint Board on De-
fense; 
(C) joint-staff talks; and 
(D) senior Army border talks; 
(2) proposing mechanisms to reach agreements 
with Canada and Mexico regarding contingency 
plans for responding to threats along the inter-
national borders of the United States; 
(3) in consultation with Canada and Mexico, 
and with input from the United States Northern 
Command—
(A) developing bilateral and trilateral capa-
bilities and coordination mechanisms to address 
common threats along shared borders; and
(B) working cooperatively to clearly limit 
the term ‘‘threats’’ to encompass only military 
or defense-related threats, rather than other 
threats to homeland security; 
(4) offering technical support to willing regional 
parties to maintain airspace security, including con-
sultation mechanisms with the Joint Interagency 
Task Force and the North American Aerospace De-
fense Command, to improve security in the North 
American and Central American airspace; and 
(5) proposing mechanisms to strengthen com-
munication information and intelligence sharing on 
defense issues among the United States, Canada, 
and Mexico. 
SEC. 7. REPATRIATION. 
The Secretary of State shall—
(1) offer incentives, and negotiate with, other 
countries to accept the International Civil Aviation 
Organization Annex 9 one-time travel document pro-
vided by the United States in lieu of official travel 
documents if an inadmissible alien has not presented 
official travel documents or has presented fraudulent 
ones; and 
(2) provide the proper support necessary to fa-
cilitate the removal of inadmissible aliens from the
United States and their repatriation in, or reinstate-
ment by, their country of nationality or last country 
of habitual residence, with a focus on criminal aliens 
who are considered particularly dangerous or who 
are potential terrorists.
Æ