[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5267 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5267

 To improve the security clearance process and increase the number of 
         detention beds along the United States-Mexico border.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 7, 2004

  Mr. Ortiz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve the security clearance process and increase the number of 
         detention beds along the United States-Mexico border.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States must have adequate infrastructure and 
        policies in place under the detention and removal operation of 
        the Department of Homeland Security to protect against 
        terrorists immigrating into the United States.
            (2) Other than Mexican (OTM) immigrants, many from 
        countries of interest, are immigrating to the United States and 
        are released at the border on their own recognizance because of 
        the lack of detention capacity.
            (3) The Department of Homeland Security estimates that up 
        to 90 percent of these immigrants do not appear for their 
        hearings before the immigration hearing officer.
            (4) The Department of Homeland Security needs more 
        personnel at the borders with the necessary security clearances 
        and equipment to adequately screen and detain immigrants coming 
        to the United States through our borders.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT IN SECURITY CLEARANCE PROCESS AND INCREASE IN 
              DETENTION BEDS ALONG THE UNITED STATE-MEXICO BORDER.

    (a) Improvement in Security Clearance Process.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall--
            (1) expeditiously implement policies ensuring that 
        personnel of the Department of Homeland Security along the 
        United States-Mexico border have the security clearances 
        required to access information necessary to adequately screen 
        immigrants entering the United States at such border, including 
        IDENT and IAFIS databases and databases used by the 
        Department's inspectors in secondary inspections; and
            (2) develop the interagency agreements and information 
        technology infrastructure necessary for border agents to 
        adequately screen immigrants entering the United States at such 
        border.
    (b) Increase in Detention Beds.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall increase by 
2,000 the number of detention beds in the Port Isabel Service 
Processing Center at Los Fresnos, Texas.
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