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1 [1] (August 27, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbmk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: August 27,2020 Biometric Entry-Exit System: Legislative History and Status The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is statutorily required to develop and implement an automatedbiometric (i.e., physical characteristics such as fingerprints, face, or irises) entry-exit systemfor foreign nationals (referred to as aliens in innigration law) traveling into andoutof the United States. The goals of this systemare to strengthen nationalsecurityandhelp enforce innigration law without disrupting the flow of authorized travel and commerce. The biometric entry systemis said to be fully operationalized, whereas thebiometric exit systemis still being implemented. Legislative History Since mandating the development of an automated entry- exit systemin 1996, Congress has amendedthe system's requirements and deadlines on several occasions, including by adding a biometric componentin 2001. A timeline of related laws includes the following: September 1996: The Illegal Imnigration Reform and Innigrant Responsibility Actof 1996 (IIRIRA; P.L. 104- 208), Section 110, required the Attorney General (AG) to develop an automated entry-exit systemthatwould collect records of alien arrivals and departures by September 1998. October 1998: Two appropriations acts (P.L. 105-259 and P.L. 105-277) amended Section 110of IIRIRA to extend the deadline for implementing the entry-exit systemto October 1998 for airports and to March2001 for land and seaports of entry (POEs). June 2000: The Imnmigration and Naturalization Service Data ManagementImprovement Act of 2000 (P.L. 106- 215) amended IIRIRA Section 110to describe the entry- exit systemin greater detail and imposednew deadlines of December 2003 for implementation of the entry -exit system at all U.S. airports and seaports, December 2004 for implementation at the 50busiest land POEs as defined by the AG, and December 2005 for making data fromthe systemavailable to innigration officers at allPOEs. October 2000: The VisaWaiverPermanentProgramAct (P.L. 106-396), Section 205, required the AGto develop and implement a fully automatedentry-exit systemto collect arrival and departure records for travelers under the Visa WaiverProgramat sea and airPOEs by October 2001. October 2001: The Uniting and Strengthening Americaby Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct TerrorismAct (USA PATRIOT Act; P.L. 107-56), Section 414, required the AGto implement the IIRIRA entry-exit systemwith all deliberate speed. Theact also directed the AG, in the development of the system, to focus on utilization of biometric technology and tamper-resistant documents. The law also required that theentry-exit system interface with certain law enforcement databases to identify individuals who may pose a threatto nationalsecurity. May 2002: The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-173), Section 302, required the AG, in developing the integrated entry-exit systemat POEs, to use the technology standard under the PATRIOT Act, establish an arrival and departure database, and make all alien admissibility security databases interoperable (i.e., able to share data with other databases). December 2004: The Intelligence Reformand Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458), Section 7208, required DHS (which was created in late 2002 and as sumed responsibility forthe nation's entry-exit system) to develop a plan to accelerate the full implementation of an automated biometric entry-exit system August2007: The Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-53), Section 711, required DHS to establish a biometric exit systemto record the departure of all Visa Waiver Program air travelers by August2008. September 2008: The DHS Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 110-329) withheld certain funding for the legacy United States Visitor and Innigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) programuntil DHS planned, piloted, and reported onabiometric air exit program December 2015 :The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113) authorized fee increases on L-1 and H- lB vis as to provide up to $1 billion dollars for DHS to implement abiometric exit systembeginningin FY2017. Executive Order-s The executive branch has also recently been involved in influencing thedevelopmentofa biometric entry-exit system Actionby the Trump Administration includes the following: March 2017: Executive Order 13780, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, ordered DHS to expedite the completion andimplementation ofa biometric entry-exit tracking system. Biometric E ntry System In December2006, DHS fully implemented a biometric entry systemfor foreign nationals. It is part of the primary inspection at U.S. POEs. During primary inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conduct a brief interview with travelers, examine travel documents, and check travelers against the Interagency Border Inspection System(IBIS), a database of alleged and convicted criminals. Officers also conduct identity verification by entering some ofthe travelers' biographical (e.g., pas sport information) and biometric (e.g., finger scans and digital photographs) identification into the US-VISIT system U.S. citizens are not required to provide biometrics upon entry to the United States. h o ' s ' . ' : k pgpg\\\ \\