[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3286 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3286

To provide for a temporary moratorium on visas for certain aliens, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2001

  Mr. Weldon of Florida (for himself, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. 
Doolittle, Mr. Schaffer, Mr. Goode, and Mr. Deal of Georgia) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
   Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for a temporary moratorium on visas for certain aliens, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Securing America From Terrorist 
Entries Act'' or the ``SAFTE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) United States border security agencies are presently 
        overwhelmed with more than 400 million visits across our 
        borders each year and safeguards need to be put in place to 
        make our borders more secure.
            (2) Current border entry and exit systems are woefully 
        inadequate and the provisions included in the USA PATRIOT Act 
        will greatly enhance the Nation's border security so that 
        Americans know with greater certainty who is entering and 
        exiting the United States.
            (3) Most of the nineteen terrorists who hijacked planes and 
        attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, are believed 
        to have entered the United States with approved visas and had 
        not been identified by the Immigration and Naturalization 
        Service as being in violation of the terms of their visa.
            (4) Afghanistan harbors terrorist organizations and is host 
        to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda terrorist network.
            (5) Terrorist organizations are operating in Algeria, 
        Lebanon, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates, and their 
        members pose a threat to the people of the United States.
            (6) Terrorist organizations continue to secretly operate in 
        Egypt and six of the individuals on the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation's most wanted terrorists list are Egyptians 
        wanted in connection with attacks on the United States.
            (7) An Egyptian, Mohamed Atta, believed to be the organizer 
        of the September 11, 2001, attacks, was able to enter and exit 
        the United States several times prior to the attacks despite 
        being on our Nation's terrorist watch list.
            (8) Nearly half of the nineteen terrorists who hijacked 
        planes on September 11, 2001, were citizens of Saudi Arabia and 
        entered the United States on approved visas.
            (9) Most of the suspects in the June 25, 1996, bombing on 
        United States Air Force Khobar Towers barracks at Dhahran Air 
        Base in Saudi Arabia are citizens of Saudi Arabia.
            (10) The United States Department of State has designated 
        Yemen a haven for terrorists and operatives of Osama bin Laden 
        operating in Yemen were responsible for the 1999 attack on the 
        USS Cole which killed 17 and injured 39 United States sailors.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN ALIEN IMMIGRANT 
              AND NONIMMIGRANT VISAS.

    (a) Terms of Moratorium.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of this section 
        and notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the 
        moratorium period no immigrant or nonimmigrant visa for 
        admission to the United States may be issued to an alien--
                    (A) who is a citizen or national of any country 
                listed under paragraph (2); or
                    (B) was a citizen or national of any country listed 
                under paragraph (2) within 15 years of the date of 
                application for a visa.
            (2) Countries.--
                    (A) The provisions of this section shall apply with 
                respect to the following countries:
                            (i) Afghanistan.
                            (ii) Algeria.
                            (iii) Egypt.
                            (iv) Lebanon.
                            (v) Saudi Arabia.
                            (vi) Somalia.
                            (vii) United Arab Emirates.
                            (viii) Yemen.
                            (ix) Any country designated as a state 
                        sponsor of terrorism.
                    (B) For purposes of this section, the term ``state 
                sponsor of terrorism'' means a country the government 
                of which the Secretary of State has determined, under 
                section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 
                section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 
                1979, or section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act, 
                to have repeatedly provided support for acts of 
                international terrorism.
            (3) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
        diplomatic visa.
            (4) Multiple citizenship.--
                    (A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall apply to any 
                alien who is described in such paragraph 
                notwithstanding that the alien is, or was during the 
                relevant period, simultaneously a citizen or national 
                of a country that is not listed under paragraph (2).
                    (B) Visa waiver program shall not apply.--Any alien 
                who is described in paragraph (1) shall be ineligible 
                for a waiver under section 217 of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1187), regardless of whether 
                the alien is a national of, or presents a passport 
                issued by, a country described in subsection (a)(2) of 
                such section.
    (b) Period of Moratorium.--The moratorium period referred to in 
subsection (a) shall begin 5 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act and shall terminate 30 days after the certification under 
subsection (c).
    (c) Certification by Attorney General.--The certification referred 
to in subsection (b) is a certification by the Attorney General to the 
Congress that--
            (1) subsections (b) and (c) of section 403 of Public Law 
        107-56 have been fully implemented; and
            (2) a system is in place that requires that all visas 
        issues to aliens who are subject to the moratorium contain 
        biometric data, are tamper-proof, and are machine-readable.
    (d) Exceptions Granted by Attorney General.--The Attorney General 
may waive the limitations of subsection (a) in the case of any alien if 
the Attorney General determines that the admission to the United States 
of such alien is in the national interest of the United States or in 
the interest of family unity and if the refusal of admission of such 
alien would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the 
alien's spouse, parent, or child, who is a citizen of the United States 
or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES FOR PURPOSES OF DEPORTATION.

    (a) Amendment to INA.--Section 237(a)(4)(B) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(4)(B)) is amended by striking ``as 
defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iii))'' and inserting ``as described 
under section 212(a)(3)(B))''.
    (b) Retroactive Application of Amendment.--The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
and shall apply to--
            (1) all actions taken by an alien before, on, or after such 
        date; and
            (2) all aliens, without regard to the date of entry or 
        attempted entry into the United States in removal proceedings 
        on or after such date (except for proceedings in which there 
        has been a final administrative decision before such date).

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR PASSENGER MANIFESTS FOR FLIGHTS IN FOREIGN AIR 
              TRANSPORTATION TO THE UNITED STATES.

    Section 44909 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Flights in Foreign Air Transportation to the United States.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this subsection, the Under Secretary of 
        Transportation for Security shall require each air carrier and 
        foreign air carrier operating a passenger flight in foreign air 
        transportation to the United States to provide to the Under 
        Secretary by electronic transmission a passenger and crew 
        manifest containing the information specified in subsection 
        (2).
            ``(2) Information.--A passenger and crew manifest for a 
        flight required under paragraph (1) shall contain the following 
        information:
                    ``(A) The full legal name of each passenger and 
                crew member, and any additional name recorded for such 
                passenger.
                    ``(B) The date of birth and citizenship of each 
                passenger and crew member.
                    ``(C) The sex of each passenger and crew member.
                    ``(D) The passport number and country of issuance 
                of each passenger and crew member if required for 
                travel.
                    ``(E) The United States visa number or resident 
                alien card number of each passenger and crew member, as 
                applicable.
                    ``(F) Such other information as the Under 
                Secretary, by regulation, determines is reasonably 
                necessary to ensure aviation safety.
            ``(3) Transmission of manifest.--Subject to paragraph (4), 
        a passenger and crew manifest required for a flight under 
        paragraph (1) shall be transmitted to the Under Secretary in 
        advance of the aircraft landing in the United States in such 
        manner, time, and form as the Under Secretary prescribes.
            ``(4) Transmission of manifests to other federal 
        agencies.--The Under Secretary may require by regulation that a 
        passenger and crew manifest required for a flight under 
        paragraph (1) be transmitted directly to the head of another 
        Federal agency.''.

SEC. 6. INQUIRY REGARDING COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AT POINT OF ENTRY.

    The Attorney General shall require by regulation that Federal 
border officials inquire of each individual entering the United States 
as to the individual's country of origin.

SEC. 7. ELIMINATING WAIVER AUTHORITY RELATING TO IMPLEMENTATION OF 
              MACHINE READABLE PASSPORTS.

    Section 217(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1187(a)(3)), as amended by Public Law 107-56) is amended by striking 
subparagraph (B).

SEC. 8. GAO STUDY.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and every 6 months thereafter, the General Accounting Office shall 
submit to the Congress a report, in classified and unclassified format, 
which evaluates the status of the following:
            (1) The reforms taken within the Immigration and 
        Naturalization Service to safeguard the borders of the United 
        States.
            (2) The ability of the Federal Government to prevent 
        terrorists from entering the United States.
            (3) The ability of the Federal Government to locate and 
        monitor the travel of aliens in the United States.
            (4) The degree of cooperation among the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the 
        intelligence agencies, and other Federal, State, and local law 
        enforcement officials.
            (5) The background check process for aliens seeking visas 
        for admission to the United States.
            (6) The implementation of other measures to safeguard the 
        borders of the United States and improve visa background 
        checks.
            (7) The effectiveness of the border security in the United 
        States.
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