[Congressional Record: October 9, 2001 (Senate)]
[Page S10390-S10397]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr09oc01-138]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
......................................
By Mr. BOND (for himself, Mr. Conrad, and Ms. Snowe):
S. 1518. A bill to improve procedures with respect to the admission
to, and departure from, the United States of aliens; to the Committee
on the Judiciary.
Mr. BOND. Madam President, among the many things that makes our
country great is the freedom we possess to move about the country and
exit and return to our country as we desire. Being a great Nation that
believes strongly in that freedom and that has paid a tremendous price
in defending that freedom, we like it to be on display to the rest of
the world and we continually and generously open our doors to others.
We as a Nation benefit from foreign visitors coming to the United
States and other countries benefit when their citizens visit this
country, whether it be to study at our schools and universities, learn
at our institutions, use our medical facilities, do business with our
dynamic private sector or visit our great cities and parks.
However, on September 11, this great Nation endured a terrible
tragedy, perpetrated by individuals who entered this country legally,
as guests, on a visa. Nineteen people who were in this country on
travel, work and student visas carried out the most deadly attack ever
on our soil. Three of those people had stayed beyond the expiration of
their visa. As the investigation of the Attorney General proceeds, many
others have been detained. Initial reports indicated that a large
number of these people were in this country on expired visas and I
suspect we will find that a large number of those involved in the
planning of the attack
[[Page S10394]]
were in the United States on expired visas.
At this time, the only system in place to track the entry and exit of
visa holders is antiquated and completely inadequate. The government
has little ability to track those who have entered the United States
and to be notified if they violate the terms of their visa. As there
are approximately 300 million immigrants and visitors that enter this
country every year, getting a handle on this problem will not be
simple. However, we must know if those who enter the United States to
study arrive and attend school, if those who come her to work are at
their jobs, if those who come here to do business do their business and
return home and if those who we admit into the United States to
vacation return home at the end of their time in the United States. We
should strive to keep our borders open, to keep commerce flowing freely
and not let the terrorist attack disrupt our relations with our good
neighbors and other friends. But at the same time, we must have a
better idea of who is entering this country, catch and screen out those
who may pose a threat and know who has violated the terms of their visa
and remained in the United States beyond the expiration date.
I would like to acknowledge and thank my colleagues Kent Conrad and
Olympia Snowe for their assistance and valuable input on this
legislation.
Specifically, this bill calls for the improvement of the information
received by the Department of State for checking the backgrounds of
visa applicants. It calls on law enforcement and intelligence agencies
to share regularly information that will be useful to the State
Department in identifying those who pose any type of threat to the
security or people of this country.
This bill calls for the improvement and implementation of the system
to track foreign students. Including a requirement that universities
notify the INS when foreign students do not show up for school, as Hani
Hanjour failed to do before participating in the attack on the World
Trade Center.
It is time to begin the roll of the Integrated Entry and Exit
Tracking system called for in legislation passed five years ago to
record the entry of visa holders, record their exit and notify the INS
and law enforcement agencies of the identity of anyone overstaying
their visa. This system should also utilize the latest technology,
including biometrics, to ensure that visas cannot be tampered with or
stolen. Finally, it is time for the members of the task force to be
appointed, including the Director of Homeland Security, so that the
issues surrounding this system can be settled.
The bill also calls for the tightening of the Visa Waiver Pilot
program to ensure that passports for participating countries are not
stolen or defaced by those trying to sneak into the country. It also
calls for those employing work visa holders to report to the INS if
that person leaves or is terminated from their job.
These are all reasonable proposals that will not impact commerce,
travel and relationships with friendly countries. It will also begin
the process of having an accurate picture of who has entered the
country and who has departed. It is one of many steps that needs to be
taken to avoid further terrorist attacks. I look forward to working
with my colleagues to implement this legislation.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
S. 1518
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Visa Integrity and Security
Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED TO EXPEDITE
IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED ENTRY AND EXIT
DATA SYSTEM.
(a) Sense of Congress.--In light of the terrorist attacks
perpetrated against the United States on September 11, 2001,
it is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Attorney General should fully implement the
integrated entry and exit data system for airports, seaports,
and land border ports of entry, as specified in section 110
of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of
2000 (Public Law 106-215), with all deliberate speed and as
expeditiously as practicable; and
(2) the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the
Secretary of the Treasury, should immediately begin
establishing the Integrated Entry and Exit Data System Task
Force, as described in section 3 of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of
2000 (Public Law 106-215).
SEC. 3. ENTRY-EXIT TRACKING SYSTEM.
(a) Development of the System.--In the development of the
entry-exit tracking system, as described in the preceeding
section, the Attorney General shall particularly focus--
(1) on the utilization of biometric technology, including,
but not limited to, electronic fingerprinting, face
recognition, and retinal scan technology; and
(2) on developing a tamper-proof identification, readable
at ports of entry as a part of any nonimmigrant visa issued
by the Secretary of State.
(b) Integration With Law Enforcement Databases.--The entry
and exit data system described in this section shall be able
to be integrated with law enforcement databases for use by
State and Federal law enforcement to identify and detain
individuals in the United States after the expiration of
their visa.
SEC. 4. ACCESS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE TO CERTAIN
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN THE CRIMINAL HISTORY
RECORDS OF VISA APPLICANTS AND APPLICANTS FOR
ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Amendment of the Immigration and Nationality Act.--
Section 105 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1105) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``; data
exchange'' after ``security officers'';
(2) by inserting ``(a)'' after ``Sec. 105.'';
(3) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and border'' after
``internal'' the second place it appears; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) The Attorney General and the Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall provide the Department of State
access to the criminal history record information contained
in the National Crime Information Center's Interstate
Identification Index (NCIC-III), Wanted Persons File, and to
any other files maintained by the National Crime Information
Center that may be mutually agreed upon by the Attorney
General and the Department of State, for the purpose of
determining whether or not a visa applicant or applicant for
admission has a criminal history record indexed in any such
file. The Department of State shall merge the information
obtained under this subsection with the information in the
system currently accessed by consular officers to determine
the criminal history records of aliens applying for visas.''.
(c) Regular Reporting.--The Director of Central
Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, the Commissioner of
Immigration and Naturalization, and the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide information to
the Secretary of State on a regular basis as agreed by the
Secretary and the head of each of these agencies that will
assist the Secretary in determining if an applicant for a
visa has a criminal background or poses a threat to the
national security of the United States or is affiliated with
a group that poses such a threat.
(d) Report on Screening Information.--Not later than 6
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of State shall submit a report to Congress on the information
that is needed from any United States agency to best screen
visa applicants to identify those affiliated with terrorist
organizations or those that pose any threat to the safety or
security of the United States, including the type of
information currently received by United States agencies and
the regularity with which such information is transmitted to
the Secretary.
SEC. 5. STUDENT TRACKING SYSTEM.
(a) Integration With Port of Entry Information.--For each
alien with respect to whom information is collected under
this section, the Attorney General shall include information
on the date of entry, port of entry, and nonimmigrant
classification.
(b) Expansion of System to Include Other Approved
Educational Institutions.--Section 641 of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(8 U.S.C.1372) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1), subsection (c)(4)(A), and
subsection (d)(1) (in the text above subparagraph (A)), by
inserting ``, other approved educational institutions,''
after ``higher education'' each place it appears;
(2) in subsections (c)(1)(C), (c)(1)(D), and (d)(1)(A), by
inserting ``, or other approved educational institution,''
after ``higher education'' each place it appears;
(3) in subsections (d)(2), (e)(1), and (e)(2), by inserting
``, other approved educational institution,'' after ``higher
education'' each place it appears; and
(4) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(3) Other approved educational institution.--The term
`other approved educational institution' includes any air
flight school, language training school, vocational school,
or other school, approved by the Attorney
[[Page S10395]]
General, in consultation with the Secretary of Education,
under subparagraph (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act.''.
(c) Expansion of System to Include Additional
Information.--Section 641(b) of the Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8
U.S.C.1372(b)), as amended by subsection (a), is further
amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of
paragraph (1) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E),
respectively;
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
``(B) the name of any dependent spouse, child, or other
family member accompanying the alien student to the United
States;''; and
(3) in paragraph (1)(D) (as so redesignated), by inserting
after ``maintaining status as a full-time student'' the
following: ``and, if the alien is not maintaining such
status, the date on which the alien has concluded the alien's
course of study and the reason therefor''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(5) Information on failure to commence studies.--Each
approved institution of higher education, other approved
educational institution, or designated exchange visitor
program shall inform the Attorney General within 30 days if
an alien described in subsection (a)(1) who is scheduled to
attend the institution or program fails to do so. The
Attorney General shall ensure that information received under
this paragraph is included in the National Crime Information
Center's Interstate Identification Index.''.
SEC. 6. STRENGTHENING VISA WAIVER PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 217(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1187(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(D) Tamper proof passport.--The country employs a tamper-
proof passport, has established a program to reduce the theft
of passports, and has experienced during the preceding two-
year period a low rate of theft of passports, as determined
by the Secretary of State.''.
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENT REGARDING H-1B NONIMMIGRANT
ALIENS.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than 14 days after the
employment of a nonimmigrant alien described in section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is
terminated by an employer, the employer shall so report to
the Attorney General, together with the reasons for the
termination.
(b) Penalty.--Any employer who fails to make a report
required under subsection (a) shall be ineligible to employ
any nonimmigrant alien described in that subsection for a
period of one year.
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