On May 11, 2005, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriation Act ( P.L. 109-13 ) was enacted with a provision relating to the construction of border fencing. This provision originated in H.R. 418 , the REAL ID Act, which was appended to H.R. 1268 . H.R. 418 was also passed as a standalone measure in the House on February 10, 2005, and was referred to the Senate on February 17, 2005. On December 6, 2005, H.R. 4312 , the Border Security and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2005, was reported out of the Homeland Security Committee. On December 16, 2005, H.R. 4437 , the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, was passed by the House; the bill was referred to the Senate on December 17, 2005. On March 16, 2006, S. 2454 was introduced by Senator Frist. On March 8, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary began marking up Senator Specter's draft comprehensive immigration reform bill. Senator Specter's draft bill was reported out of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 27 and a modified version of the bill was introduced as a substitute amendment, S.Amdt. 3192 , to S. 2454 on March 30. On April 6, 2006, the Senate rejected a motion, by a vote of 39 to 60, to invoke cloture on the Specter substitute. On April 7, 2006, the Senate rejected a motion to invoke cloture on a motion to recommit S. 2454 to the Senate Judiciary Committee with instructions that it be reported back with the Hagel amendment (Hagel-Martinez compromise) on a 38 to 60 vote. That same day the Senate rejected, on a 36 to 62 vote, a motion to invoke cloture on S. 2454 . The Hagel-Martinez compromise, with some modifications, was subsequently introduced in the Senate on April 24, 2006, as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 ( S. 2611 / S. 2612 ). S. 2611 , the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, was passed by the Senate on May 25, 2006. H.R. 6061 , the Secure Fence Act of 2006, was introduced in the House, referred to the Homeland Security Committee, and reported out of the Committee on September 13, 2006. H.R. 6061 was passed by the House on September 14, 2006 by a vote of 283-138. Senate Amendment 4788 was added to the Department of Defense Appropriation Bill, H.R. 5631 , on August 2, 2006, and would appropriate $1.8 billion to the National Guard for the construction of border fencing. H.R. 5631 was passed by the Senate on September 7, 2006, and is currently in Conference. Before September 11, 2001, border security fell piecemeal under the mandate of many diverse federal departments, including but not limited to the Department of Justice (the Immigration and Naturalization Service); the Department of the Treasury (the Customs Service); the Department of Agriculture (the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service); and the Department of Transportation (the Coast Guard). In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, policymakers have focused a great deal of attention on securing America's international borders. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-296 ) consolidated most federal agencies operating along the U.S. borders within the newly formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was charged with securing the nation against a potential terrorist attack. Most of these agencies were located in the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (BTS), which was charged with securing the borders; territorial waters; terminals; waterways; and air, land, and sea transportation systems of the United States; and managing the nation's ports of entries. The FY2006 DHS Appropriations Act ( P.L. 109-90 ) eliminated BTS and required the two of its component agencies, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to report directly to the Secretary's office. The U.S. Coast Guard was established as, and remains, a standalone division within DHS. The concept of border security is an intricate part of overall homeland security. Border security involves securing the many means by which people and things can enter the country. Operationally, this means controlling the official ports of entry (POE) through which legitimate travelers and commerce enter the country, and patrolling the nation's land and maritime borders to safeguard against and interdict illegal entries. Within DHS, CBP is the agency charged with securing the nation's international border at and between POE. At POE, CBP Officers screen the goods and travelers that are attempting to enter the country to ensure that unwanted or dangerous people and things to do not enter the country. Between POE, Border Patrol Agents attempt to detect and prevent the illegal entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, unauthorized aliens, and contraband. Although the movement of goods into the country is clearly an important aspect of the overall security of the U.S. borders, this report will focus on the movement of people into the country because that has been the main issue addressed by most of the border security legislation currently being considered in the 109 th Congress. Cargo security issues are planned to be discussed in a forthcoming report. This report is organized to reflect the main border security issues relating to the movement of people into the country, as indicated by the legislation currently pending in the 109 th Congress. As such, it focuses on legislation with provisions affecting the movement of people into the country between POE, and at POE. Appendix A includes a table that tracks the status of the bills that are discussed in this report. Appendix B includes a table that groups the bills discussed by issue area. The United States Border Patrol (USBP) within CBP is charged with securing the U.S. international land border between POE, detecting and preventing the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and illegal aliens into the country, and interdicting drug smugglers and other criminals along the border. As such, the USBP patrols over 8,000 miles of the U.S. international borders, including the roughly 2,000 mile Southern and 4,000 mile Northern borders. In its efforts to secure the border, the USBP deploys a wide range of resources, including technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sensors, and cameras; infrastructure, including fences, vehicle barriers, and checkpoints; on-road and off-road vehicles, boats, fixed wing aircraft, and helicopters. There has been much debate in the 109 th Congress concerning whether DHS has sufficient resources to adequately fulfill its border security mission. Many of the issues identified between POE relate to resource requirements and allocation strategies. Some bills include provisions that would require the Secretary of DHS to submit a comprehensive plan for securing the United States' borders. H.R. 4312 , H.R. 4437 , H.R. 5067 , S. 2454 , S.Amdt. 3192 , S. 2611 , S. 2612 and S. 3564 all include a similar provision that would require the Secretary to submit a National Strategy for Border Security within one year of enactment. The Strategy would include, among other things, a surveillance plan for monitoring the border; an assessment of the threat posed by terrorists who might attempt to infiltrate the U.S. along the border; a risk assessment of all POE and all borders regarding the prevention of unlawful entry and of contraband smuggling, including weapons of mass destruction; an assessment of the best mix of technology, equipment, personnel, and training needed to address security vulnerabilities; an assessment of the staffing, resource, technology, and detention needs for border security functions; an assessment of the effect of existing efforts and technologies used for border security on civil rights, personal property, privacy rights, civil liberties and vulnerable populations such as trafficking victims and a timeline for implementation of the plan. In the early 1990s, the USBP incorporated the construction of physical barriers directly on the border into their National Strategic Plan as part of the "Prevention Through Deterrence" strategy, which called for reducing unauthorized migration by placing agents and resources directly on the border abutting population centers. In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 which, among other things, expanded an existing fence in San Diego by authorizing the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to construct a triple-layered fence along the same 14 miles of the US-Mexico border near San Diego. Construction of the last 4.5 miles of the triple fence stalled, however, due to environmental concerns raised by the California Coastal Commission. A number of bills introduced in the 109 th Congress include provisions relating to the construction of border fencing and other barriers. The REAL ID Act of 2005 ( H.R. 418 ) was incorporated into the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act ( H.R. 1268 ), which eventually became P.L. 109-13 , enacting a provision expanding the Secretary's authority to waive legal requirements in order to ensure expeditious construction of authorized barriers and roads. The Secretary recently announced that he will use this new authority to complete construction of the San Diego fence. H.R. 4083 would amend the INA to direct the Secretary to construct a fence along the entire southwest border and would authorize $2 billion for this purpose. S. 1916 includes a provision requiring the Secretary to study the feasibility and cost of constructing a triple fence along the southwest border. S. 2049 would direct the Secretary to construct whatever fencing and other infrastructure is necessary to achieve operational control of the border. H.R. 5456 would authorize the Secretary to construct fencing along portions of the southwest border as deemed necessary by the Secretary.