Border Security: Immigration Issues in the 108th Congress

Abstract

Enhancing border security has emerged as a significant policy issue after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Prior to the terrorist attacks, the priorities for border security policy were beginning to shift from immigration-related issues to issues related to facilitating legitimate cross-border commerce. Several bills have been introduced in the 108th Congress (S. 539/H.R. 1096 and S. 6) that would authorize funding for increased personnel and technological improvements. S. 539/H.R. 1096 would require ongoing training for immigration personnel on how to use the new technology, an update of a port infrastructure assessment study, and demonstration projects on new technology at ports of entry, among other things. Another piece of legislation (H.R. 853) would establish a northern border coordinator within the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among other things. The northern border coordinator would serve as a liaison to the Canadian government on border security-related issues. Although the 107th Congress enacted several pieces of legislation that dealt with enhancing immigration-related border security, legislation to strengthen the nation's borders had been enacted as early as the 104th Congress. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; P.L. 104-208) contained several immigration-related border security provisions that addressed illegal immigration and the smuggling of humans into the United States through the southwest border. IIRIRA also contained a provision that required the electronic tracking of every alien arriving in and departing from the United States. The deadline for implementing the electronic tracking system, commonly referred to as the entry and exit data system, was moved back in subsequent legislation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 18, 2004
Accession Number
ADA456881

Entities

People

  • Lisa M. Seghetti

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biometric Security
  • Border Security
  • Congress
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Employment
  • Federal Law
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Identification
  • Identification Systems
  • Immigration
  • Law
  • National Governments
  • Personnel Management
  • Security
  • Undocumented Noncitizens
  • United States

Readers

  • Canadian European Scientific Immigration and Epilepsy Clearance Studies
  • Government and Public Administration Law.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics