The July 2004 report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States(also known as the 9/11 Commission) concluded that the key officials responsible for determiningalien admissions (consular officers abroad and immigration inspectors in the United States) were notconsidered full partners in counterterrorism efforts prior to September 11, 2001, and as a result,opportunities to intercept the September 11 terrorists were missed. (1) The 9/11 Commission contendedthat "(t)here were opportunities for intelligence and law enforcement to exploit al Qaeda's travelvulnerabilities." The report went on to state: "Considered collectively, the 9/11 hijackers included known al Qaeda operatives who could have been watchlisted; presented fraudulent passports; presented passports with suspicious indicators ofextremism; made detectable false statements on visa applications; made false statements to border officials to gain entry into the United States;and violated immigration laws while in the United States." (2) The 9/11 Commission issued several recommendations that directly pertain to immigration law and policy. These recommendations are: Targeting travel is at least as powerful a weapon against terrorists as targeting their money. The United States should combine intelligence, operations, and law enforcement in astrategy to intercept terrorists, find terrorist travel facilitators, and constrain terroristmobility. The U.S. border security system should be integrated into a larger network ofscreening points that includes our transportation system and access to vital facilities, such as nuclearreactors. The Department of Homeland Security, properly supported by the Congress,should complete, as quickly as possible, a biometric entry-exit screening system, including a singlesystem for speeding qualified travelers. The U.S. government cannot meet its own obligations to the American peopleto prevent the entry of terrorists without a major effort to collaborate with othergovernments. (3) These recommendations have broad implications for immigration law and policy. Also, as Congress has moved on the Commission's recommendations, immigration-related reforms have beena key component of major legislative proposals. This report summarizes the major proposed reformsconsidered and adopted in the 108th Congress. Of the several bills that sought to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission in the108th Congress, two passed their respective Houses, and both of these proposed revisions toimmigration law: H.R. 10 , the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act, asamended, introduced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert and passed bythe House as S. 2845 on October 8, 2004 (House-passed S. 2845 ); and S. 2845 , the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, as amended, introduced bySenators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman and passed by the Senate on October 8, 2004(Senate-passed S. 2845 ). Certain immigration-related provisions of these bills weresignificant sources of contention by lawmakers, curtailing immediate agreement of a compromisebill. The conference report on S. 2845 passed the House on December 7 and the Senateon December 8, 2004. (4) The Intelligence Reform andTerrorism Prevention Act of 2004 ( P.L.108-458 ), a compromise bill signed on December 17, 2004 includes some - but not all - of theimmigration provisions that were originally under consideration. The major areas that were under consideration in these comprehensive reform proposals are briefly discussed below. References to CRS reports that analyze these issues in depth are listed foreach major area. (5) Summaries of the immigrationprovisions in P.L. 108-458 concludes the report. As mentioned above, actions to identify and intercept terrorists who are attempting to enter or leave the United States are a key component of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. In 1996,Congress required the development of an automated entry and exit data system to track the arrivaland departure of aliens, but such a system has yet to be fully implemented. Following the 9/11terrorist attacks, Congress enacted additional measures, including the USA PATRIOT Act ( P.L.107-56 ) and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-173 ), toencourage the more expeditious development of an automated entry and exit data system, and tofurther require that biometric identifiers be used in passports, visas, and other travel documents toimprove their security. To keep inadmissible aliens abroad, the Illegal Immigration Reform andImmigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA, P.L. 104-208 , Division C) required theimplementation of a pre-inspection program at selected locations overseas under which immigrationofficers inspect aliens before their final departure to the United States, and authorized assistance toair carriers at selected foreign airports to help in the detection of fraudulent documents. A number of proposals were made in the 108th Congress to improve the accurate monitoring of persons entering and exiting the United States. Many of these proposals were not specific toaliens, but covered all persons traveling to or from the United States. These proposals included: hastening the development and installation of a biometric entry and exit data system that is integrated with various databases and data systems that process or contain informationon aliens <108>[House-passed, Senate-passed]; requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue a notice of proposedrulemaking to allow for the pre-flight comparison of passenger records for any flight to or from theUnited States with the integrated terrorist watch list, and establishing an appeals process allowingfor modification of records [House-passed]; requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a watchlist forpassengers of cruise ships [Senate-passed]; authorizing DHS to establish permanent pre-enrollment programs that subjectparticipants, who may be either aliens and citizens of the United States, to criminal and watch-listscreenings and fingerprint checks, so that the inspections of such program participants may beexpedited at ports of entry [House-passed]; improving the security of passports and other travel documents, includingthrough the strengthening of security requirements for "breeder" documents that are used to obtainpassports or other travel documents [House- and Senate-passed]; encouraging the adoption of international standards for the uniform translationof names into the Roman alphabet for purposes of travel documents and security systems[House-passed]; expanding pre-inspection programs in foreign countries and assistance to aircarriers at selected foreign airports in the detection of fraudulent documents [House- andSenate-passed]; improving the security of the visa issuance process by providing consularofficers and immigration inspectors greater training in detecting terrorist indicators, terrorist travelpatterns and fraudulent documents [House- and Senate-passed]; improving the security of the visa issuance process by, among other things, (1)establishing an Office of Visa and Passport Security within the State Department to develop astrategic plan to disrupt the operations of individuals and organizations engaged in travel documentfraud, (2) increasing the number of consular officers, (3) codifying that all applications for temporaryvisas be adjudicated by a consular officer, (4) providing consular officers greater training in detectingfraudulent documents, and (5) stationing anti-fraud specialists at consular posts overseas[House-passed]; requiring persons applying for nonimmigrant visas between the ages of 12 and65 to be interviewed by consular officer prior to visa issuance, subject to waiver in certaincircumstances [Senate-passed]; authorizing and encouraging the President to enter into internationalagreements to curtail terrorist travel by upgrading verification and information-sharing systems[House- and Senate-passed]; limiting the President's ability to waive general statutory requirementsrequiring U.S. citizens traveling abroad or attempting to enter the United States to bear a valid U.S.passport, so that such a waiver can only be exercised with respect to U.S. citizens traveling to orfrom foreign contiguous territories who are bearing identification documents designated by DHS as(1) reliable proof of U.S. citizenship, and (2) of a type that may not be issued to an unlawfullypresent alien within the United States [House-passed]; amending the present waiver authority concerning document requirements forarriving nationals from foreign contiguous countries or adjacent islands, so that such waivers mayonly be granted (in non-emergency situations) through a joint determination by the Secretary ofHomeland Security and Secretary of State on the basis of reciprocity, and then only if the arrivingforeign national is in possession of identification documents deemed secure by the Secretary ofHomeland Security [House-passed]; and requiring the Secretary of State, in consultation with DHS, expeditiously todevelop and implement a plan for the use of biometric passports. This plan would require U.S.citizens and foreign nationals from contiguous territories or adjacent islands (i.e., aliens currentlywaived in ï¿½ 214(d)(4) of INA) to present biometric passports, or some other type of secure biometrictravel document, for travel into the United States [Senate-passed]. For further discussion of these and related topics, see CRS Report RL32399 , Border Security: Inspections Practices, Policies, and Issues ; CRS Report RL32188 , Monitoring Foreign Students inthe United States: The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) , CRS Report RL32234 , U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program (US-VISIT) ; CRS Report RL31512 , Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation ; and CRS Report RL32221 , VisaWaiver Program . A primary area of difference between House-passed and Senate-passed versions of S. 2845 concerned grounds for alien exclusion, removal, and relief from removal, asonly the House-passed bill dealt extensively with these areas.