Home > 105th Congressional Bills > H.R. 2920 (eh) To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to modify the requirements for implementation of an entry- exit control system. ...H.R. 2920 (eh) To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to modify the requirements for implementation of an entry- exit control system. ...
In the Senate of the United States, July 30, 1998. Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 2920) entitled ``An Act to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to modify the requirements for implementation of an entry-exit control system.'', do pass with the following AMENDMENT: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Border Improvement and Immigration Act of 1998''. SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND IMMIGRANT RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 1996. (a) In General.--Section 110(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1221 note) is amended to read as follows: ``(a) System.-- ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall develop an automated entry and exit control system that will-- ``(A) collect a record of departure for every alien departing the United States and match the record of departure with the record of the alien's arrival in the United States; and ``(B) enable the Attorney General to identify, through on-line searching procedures, lawfully admitted nonimmigrants who remain in the United States beyond the period authorized by the Attorney General. ``(2) Exception.--The system under paragraph (1) shall not collect a record of arrival or departure-- ``(A) at a land border or seaport of the United States for any alien; or ``(B) for any alien for whom the documentary requirements in section 212(a)(7)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act have been waived by the Attorney General and the Secretary of State under section 212(d)(4)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.''. (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208; 110 Stat. 3009-546). SEC. 3. REPORT ON AUTOMATED ENTRY-EXIT CONTROL SYSTEM. (a) Requirement.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the feasibility of developing and implementing an automated entry-exit control system that would collect a record of departure for every alien departing the United States and match the record of departure with the record of the alien's arrival in the United States, including departures and arrivals at the land borders and seaports of the United States. (b) Contents of Report.--Such report shall-- (1) assess the costs and feasibility of various means of operating such an automated entry-exit control system, including exploring-- (A) how, if the automated entry-exit control system were limited to certain aliens arriving at airports, departure records of those aliens could be collected when they depart through a land border or seaport; and (B) the feasibility of the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, negotiating reciprocal agreements with the governments of contiguous countries to collect such information on behalf of the United States and share it in an acceptable automated format; (2) consider the various means of developing such a system, including the use of pilot projects if appropriate, and assess which means would be most appropriate in which geographical regions; (3) evaluate how such a system could be implemented without increasing border traffic congestion and border crossing delays and, if any such system would increase border crossing delays, evaluate to what extent such congestion or delays would increase; and (4) estimate the length of time that would be required for any such system to be developed and implemented. SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORTS ON ENTRY-EXIT CONTROL AND USE OF ENTRY-EXIT CONTROL DATA. (a) Annual Reports on Implementation of Entry-Exit Control at Airports.--Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year until the fiscal year in which Attorney General certifies to Congress that the entry-exit control system required by section 110(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended by section 2 of this Act, has been developed, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that-- (1) provides an accurate assessment of the status of the development of the entry-exit control system; (2) includes a specific schedule for the development of the entry-exit control system that the Attorney General anticipates will be met; and (3) includes a detailed estimate of the funding, if any, needed for the development of the entry-exit control system. (b) Annual Reports on Visa Overstays Identified Through the Entry- Exit Control System.--Not later than June 30 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report that sets forth-- (1) the number of arrival records of aliens and the number of departure records of aliens that were collected during the preceding fiscal year under the entry-exit control system under section 110(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as so amended, with a separate accounting of such numbers by country of nationality; (2) the number of departure records of aliens that were successfully matched to records of such aliens' prior arrival in the United States, with a separate accounting of such numbers by country of nationality and by classification as immigrant or nonimmigrant; and (3) the number of aliens who arrived as nonimmigrants, or as visitors under the visa waiver program under section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, for whom no matching departure record has been obtained through the system, or through other means, as of the end of such aliens' authorized period of stay, with an accounting by country of nationality and approximate date of arrival in the United States. (c) Incorporation into Other Databases.--Information regarding aliens who have remained in the United States beyond their authorized period of stay that is identified through the system referred to in subsection (a) shall be integrated into appropriate databases of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of State, including those used at ports-of-entry and at consular offices. SEC. 5. BORDER CROSSING-RELATED VISAS. (a) Waiver of Fees for Certain Visas.-- (1) Requirement.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of State or the Attorney General may waive all or part of any fee or fees for the processing of any application for the issuance of a combined border crossing identification card and nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act where the application is made in Mexico on behalf of a Mexican national under 15 years old at the time of application. (2) Period of validity of visas.-- (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if the fee for a combined border crossing card and nonimmigrant visa issued under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act has been waived under paragraph (1) for a child under 15 years of age, the visa shall be issued to expire on the earlier of-- (i) the date that is 10 years after the date of issuance; or (ii) the date on which the child attains the age of 15. (B) Exception.--At the request of the parent or guardian of any alien under 15 years of age otherwise covered by subparagraph (A), the Secretary of State or the Attorney General may charge a fee for the processing of an application of the issuance of a combined border crossing card and nonimmigrant visa under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provided that the visa is issued to expire as of the same date as is usually provided for visas issued under that section. (3) Level of fees.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, fees authorized pursuant to section 140(a) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (8 U.S.C. 1351 note) may be set at a level that will ensure recovery of the full cost to the Department of State of providing machine readable nonimmigrant visas and machine readable combined border crossing identification cards and nonimmigrant visas, including the cost of such combined cards and visas for which the fee is waived pursuant to this subsection. (b) Modified Schedule for Implementation of Border Crossing Restrictions.-- (1) Modified schedule.--Paragraph (2) of section 104(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104-208; 110 Stat. 3009-555; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended to read as follows: ``(2) Clause b.--Clause (B) of such sentence shall apply to the extent that inspections personnel and technology in operation at the port of entry can verify information from the card. For the replacement of existing border crossing identification cards, clause (B) of such sentence shall apply in accordance with the timetable as follows: ``(A) As of October 1, 2000, to not less than 25 percent of the border crossing identification cards in circulation as of April 1, 1998. ``(B) As of October 1, 2001, to not less than 50 percent of such cards in circulation as of April 1, 1998. ``(C) As of October 1, 2002, to not less than 75 percent of such cards in circulation as of April 1, 1998. ``(D) As of October 1, 2003, to all such cards in circulation as of April 1, 1998.''. (2) Earlier deadlines.--Such section 104(b) is further amended by adding at the end the following: ``(3) Earlier deadlines.--If the Secretary of State and the Attorney General jointly determine that sufficient capacity exists to replace border crossing identification cards in advance of any of the deadlines otherwise provided for under paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Attorney General may by regulation advance such deadlines.''. (c) Processing in Mexican Border Cities.--The Secretary of State shall continue, until at least October 1, 2000, to process applications for visas under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act at the following cities in Mexico located near the international border with the United States: Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Acuna, Piedras Negras, Agua Prieta, and Reynosa. SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR BORDER CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE. (a) Authorization.--In order to enhance enforcement and inspection resources on the land borders of the United States, enhance investigative resources for anticorruption efforts and efforts against drug smuggling and money-laundering organizations, reduce commercial and passenger traffic waiting times, and open all primary lanes during peak hours at major land border ports of entry on the Southwest and Northern land borders of the United States, in addition to any other amounts appropriated, there are authorized to be appropriated for salaries, expenses, and equipment for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for purposes of carrying out this section-- (1) $119,604,000 for fiscal year 1999; (2) $123,064,000 for fiscal year 2000; and (3) such sums as may be necessary in each fiscal year thereafter. (b) Use of Certain Fiscal Year 1999 Funds.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a)(1) for fiscal year 1999 for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, $19,090,000 shall be available until expended for acquisition and other expenses associated with implementation and full deployment of narcotics enforcement and other technology along the land borders of the United States, including-- (1) $11,000,000 for 5 mobile truck x-rays with transmission and backscatter imaging to be distributed to border patrol checkpoints and in secondary inspection areas of land border ports-of-entry; (2) $200,000 for 10 ultrasonic container inspection units to be distributed to border patrol checkpoints and in secondary inspection areas of land border ports-of-entry; (3) $240,000 for 10 Portable Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS) terminals to be distributed to border patrol checkpoints; (4) $5,000,000 for 20 remote watch surveillance camera systems to be distributed to border patrol checkpoints and at secondary inspection areas of land border ports-of-entry; (5) $180,000 for 36 AM radio ``Welcome to the United States'' stations located at permanent border patrol checkpoints and at secondary inspection areas of land border ports-of-entry; (6) $875,000 for 36 spotter camera systems located at permanent border patrol checkpoints and at secondary inspection areas of land border ports-of-entry; and (7) $1,600,000 for 40 narcotics vapor and particle detectors to be distributed to border patrol checkpoints and at secondary inspection areas of land border ports-of-entry. (c) Use of Certain Funds after Fiscal Year 1999.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) for the Immigration and Naturalization Service for fiscal year 2000 and each fiscal year thereafter, $4,773,000 shall be for the maintenance and support of the equipment and training of personnel to maintain and support the equipment described in subsection (b), based on an estimate of 25 percent of the cost of such equipment. (d) Use of Funds for New Technologies.-- (1) In general.--The Attorney General may use the amounts authorized to be appropriated for equipment under this section for equipment other than the equipment specified in subsection (b) if such other equipment-- (A)(i) is technologically superior to the equipment specified in subsection (b); and (ii) will achieve at least the same results at a cost that is the same or less than the equipment specified in subsection (b); or (B) can be obtained at a lower cost than the equipment authorized in subsection (b). (2) Transfer of funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Attorney General may reallocate an amount not to exceed 10 percent of the amount specified in paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (b) for any other equipment specified in subsection (b). (e) Peak Hours and Investigative Resource Enhancement.--Of the Other Popular 105th Congressional Bills Documents:
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