Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 5292 (ih) To increase State flexibility in funding child protection programs, and for other purposes. [Introduced in House] ...H.R. 5292 (ih) To increase State flexibility in funding child protection programs, and for other purposes. [Introduced in House] ...
(C) 25 to 100 aliens from 27 months to 81 months;
and
(D) 101 aliens or more from 37 months to 111
months;
(2) increase the minimum level of fines for each of the
offenses described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of
paragraph (1) to the greater of $25,000 per alien or 3 times
the amount the defendant received or expected to receive as
compensation for the illegal activity;
(3) increase by at least 2 offense levels above the
applicable enhancement in effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act the sentencing enhancements for intentionally or
recklessly creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury
or causing bodily injury, serious injury, or permanent or life
threatening injury;
(4) for actions causing death, increase the offense level
to be equivalent to that for involuntary manslaughter under
section 1112 of title 18, United States Code; and
(5) for corporations or other business entities that
knowingly benefit from such offenses, increase the minimum
level of fines for each of the offenses described in
subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1) to $50,000 per
alien employed directly, or indirectly through contract, by the
corporation or entity.
(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to an offense that
involved the smuggling, transporting, or harboring only of the
defendant's spouse or child (or both the defendant's spouse and child).
(c) Deadline.--The United States Sentencing Commission shall carry
out subsection (a) not later than the date that is 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 97. INCREASED PENALTY FOR SMUGGLING.
(a) In General.--The third undesignated paragraph of section 545 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ``five years'' and
inserting ``20 years''.
(b) Enhanced Penalty for Causing Death.--Pursuant to its authority
under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States
Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to
provide sentencing enhancements for an offense under section 545 of
title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), that
results in the death of a person.
(c) Consistency With Other Guidelines.--In carrying out this
section, the United States Sentencing Commission--
(1) shall ensure that there is reasonable consistency with
other Federal sentencing guidelines; and
(2) shall avoid duplicative punishments for substantially
the same offense.
Subtitle D--Beyond Our Borders (International)
CHAPTER 1--COORDINATING DHS MISSION OVERSEAS
SEC. 101. OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS; EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT
MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS.
Section 879(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
459(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) To manage all overseas assignments of personnel of
the Department, including by coordinating with the Department
of State with respect to such assignments and related support
matters.''.
SEC. 102. CREATION OF AN OFFICE OF OVERSEAS SERVICE.
Section 879 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 459) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Office of Overseas Service.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall create an Office of
Overseas Service within the Office of International Affairs
similar to the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department
of Agriculture and the United States and Foreign Commercial
Service of the Department of Commerce. The Director of the
Office of International Affairs shall be responsible for
administering the Office of Overseas Service.
``(2) Functions.--The Office of Overseas Service shall be
responsible for the following functions:
``(A) Serving as the contact for the Department of
Homeland Security with the State Department to
coordinate overseas assignments.
``(B) Recruitment of personnel for overseas
service.
``(C) Retention of personnel for overseas service.
``(D) Oversight of training of personnel for
overseas service.
``(3) Study and report.--
``(A) Study.--Prior to creating the Office of
Overseas Service, the Secretary shall direct the
Director of the Office of International Affairs to
conduct a study on how best to create a foreign service
component for the Department for the purpose of
adequately recruiting and retaining personnel who are
willing and able to serve in the Department in an
overseas capacity.
``(B) Report.--Not later than January 1, 2005, the
Director of the Office of International Affairs shall
prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional
committees (as defined by section 2 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) a report that
contains the results of the study on creating an Office
of Overseas Service conducted pursuant to subparagraph
(A) and an implementation plan for carrying out such
study's recommendations.''.
CHAPTER 2--IMPLEMENTING A MORE EFFECTIVE VISA SECURITY PROGRAM
SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTING A MORE EFFECTIVE VISA SECURITY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit
to the Congress a report--
(1) outlining how the Department of Homeland Security will
implement the recommendations of the report issued in August
2004 by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department
of Homeland Security entitled ``An Evaluation of DHS Activities
to Implement Section 428 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002'';
(2) detailing such department's progress in implementing
each of the recommendations described in paragraph (1); and
(3) examining the visa security program's effectiveness as
a counter-terrorism program.
(b) Consultation.--In preparing the report described in subsection
(a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with the
Secretary of State.
(c) Contents.--The report shall also include the following:
(1) Overseas placement of visa security officers.--The
report shall assess the criteria used in deciding where to
station or not to station visa security officers
(2) Qualifications of visa security officers.--The report
shall assess the skills required of a visa security officer,
including required foreign language skills.
(3) Duties.--The report shall contain both the model visa
security officer position description and the current duties of
the visa security officers stationed overseas.
(4) Placement within department.--The report shall contain
a recommendation on the proper location of the program within
Department of Homeland Security to maximize its value as a
counter-terrorism program.
CHAPTER 3--SECURING THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
SEC. 106. VISA WAIVER PROGRAM PASSENGER SCREENING; BIOGRAPHICAL CHECKS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
establish, as part of the integrated entry and exit data system
required under section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1365a), an electronic
system through which an alien seeking to enter the United States
without a visa under the visa waiver program described in section 217
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) is required to
submit biographical information prior to embarkation.
(b) Elements.--The electronic system required to be established
under subsection (a) shall satisfy the following requirements:
(1) Electronic determination of eligibility.--The system
shall include a method for an electronic determination to be
made, and an electronic response to be provided, in 30 minutes
or less, as to whether or not an alien submitting information
as described in subsection (a) is eligible to be admitted to
the United States as a nonimmigrant visitor described in
section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(B)).
(2) Carrier obligations.--The system shall include a method
for requiring--
(A) carriers and other corporations described in
section 217(a)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(5)) to
inquire electronically, prior to an alien passenger's
embarkation without a visa, whether the alien has been
determined, using the system described in this section,
to be eligible for such an admission; and
(B) the electronic response to such inquiry to be
provided in 90 seconds or less.
(3) Deployment.--The system shall be deployed as soon as
possible after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(4) Fee.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
establish a fee to be charged to aliens described in subsection
(a) that is set at a level that will ensure the recovery of the
full costs of establishing and operating the system.
(c) Consultation.--In developing the system, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall consult with, and allow for the system's review
by, a private sector group consisting of individuals with expertise in
immigration, travel, tourism, privacy, national security, or computer
security issues.
SEC. 107. DEFINING SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
OFFICE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall create a
Visa Waiver Program Office.
(b) Functions.-- The functions of the head of the Visa Waiver
Program Office shall include the following:
(1) Developing a plan to submit the annual report required
under section 110(e) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1221 note).
(2) Developing protocols and a plan to conduct biennial
country reviews.
(3) Determining funding levels necessary to support the
conduct of country reviews and to carry out the other
responsibilities of the office.
(4) Developing a process to comprehensively check all lost
and stolen passport data provided countries designated as visa
waiver program countries under section 217 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) against entry and exit data
in information systems of the United States.
(5) Developing procedures to collect and analyze data
concerning the fraudulent use of visa waiver program passports.
(6) Including in the country review protocols provisions to
review document manufacturing and issuing security practices.
(7) Coordinating with the Department of State to establish
standard operating procedure for systemic and proactive
collection of lost and stolen passport information.
(8) Requiring that inventory control numbers and passport
numbers be queried in lookout systems.
(9) Reviewing policies that allow the return of fraudulent
travel documents to those who presented them when they are sent
back to their countries of origin.
SEC. 108. ADDITIONAL AND CONTINUOUS TRAINING FOR INSPECTORS IN FRAUD
AND IMPOSTER DETECTION.
(a) Fraud Detection.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
provide inspectors conducting inspections of aliens entering the United
States pursuant to the visa waiver program described in section 217 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187) with enhanced and
continuous training in detecting imposters and in passport and document
fraud detection. Additional training should be provided when any
program country designated under such section makes changes in its
passports. The Secretary shall report to the appropriate congressional
committees (as defined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 101)) on the amount and the type of training received
such inspectors on detecting and handling fraudulent documents.
(b) Foreign Languages.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
provide inspectors described in subsection (a) with foreign language
training in languages determined to be necessary to carrying out the
anti-terrorism and law enforcement functions of such inspectors.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such funds as may be necessary to develop the capability
to scan fraudulent documents and to transmit a high quality color image
to the forensic document laboratory. The Secretary of Homeland Security
shall ensure that staff is available in the Forensic Document
Laboratory on a 24-hour basis to assist in determining the validity of
the scanned document.
SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out the functions described in this subchapter.
Subtitle E--Securing the Immigration Benefits Process
SEC. 111. IMMIGRATION OMBUDSMAN.
(a) Extension of Authority to All Immigration Functions.--Section
452 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 272) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Citizenship and
Immigration Services'' and inserting ``Immigration'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services'' and inserting
``U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or U.S. Customs
and Border Protection''; and
(B) in each of paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking
``the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services''
each place such term appears and inserting ``such
entities'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services'' each place such
term appears and inserting ``the entities described in
subsection (b)''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Director of the
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services,'' and
inserting ``Director of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, Assistant Secretary for U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection Commissioner'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services'' and inserting
``the entities described in subsection (b)''; and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``Director of the
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services,'' and
inserting ``Director of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, Assistant Secretary for U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs
and Border Protection Commissioner'';
(5) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ``the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services'' and inserting ``the
entities described in subsection (b)'';
(6) in subsection (f)--
(A) by amending the subsection heading to read as
follows: ``Responsibilities.--'';
(B) by striking ``Director of the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services,'' and inserting
``Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Commissioner''; and
(C) by striking ``director'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``person''; and
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