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 BORDER SECURITY
The
terrorist attacks of September 11th have unsettled the public's confidence in
our Nation's security and have raised concerns about whether our institutions
are up to the task of intercepting and thwarting would-be terrorists. Given
that the persons responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon came
from abroad, our citizens understandably ask how these people entered the United States and what can be done
to prevent their kind from doing so again. Clearly, our immigration laws and
policies are instrumental to the war on terrorism. While the battle may be
waged on several fronts, for the man or woman on the street, immigration is
in many ways the front line of our defense.
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more
(Excerpt
from the Floor Statement of Senator Sam Brownback, November 1, 2001)
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S. 1749 -
The Kennedy-Brownback Bill to Enhance the Border Security of the United States
Status: Introduced 11/1/2001 Referred to Senate Committee on
the Judiciary
This bill, which complements
earlier anti-terrorism legislation, takes several steps to reform
immigration laws and institutions in order to improve the security of the
nation’s borders. Some of the bill’s highlights are listed below:
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- Technology. The bill pays for improvements
in the technology used by the State Department. It helps the State
Department better coordinate with foreign intelligence services and
guides the development of the Integrated Entry and Exit Data System,
pointing the Service to such tools as biometric identifiers in
immigration documents, machine readable visas and passports, and
arrival-departure and security databases.
- Information Sharing. The
Kennedy-Brownback legislation provides the Department of State and the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) with law enforcement and
intelligence information needed to screen visa and admissions
applicants. The legislation will bring the agencies that have
important information together with those who need it. This information
sharing will be essential since S. 1618 prohibits the admission of an
alien from a country designated to be a state sponsor of terrorism
until appropriate clearances are conducted on such an individual.
- Students. The legislation
makes changes in the way foreign students are allowed into the United States and how they are
monitored. The bill requires the INS to review institutions authorized
to enroll foreign students and exchange visitors. S. 1618 also
requires that an alien’s dates of entry, enrollment, commencement and
termination be collected on foreign students and exchange visitors.
Institutions of higher education would also be required to report any
alien student's failure to enroll.
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