[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2709 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 594
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2709

To increase the criminal penalties for illegally reentering the United 
                     States and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2008

 Mr. Sessions introduced the following bill; which was read the first 
                                  time

                             March 6, 2008

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To increase the criminal penalties for illegally reentering the United 
                     States 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 ``Border Crossing Deterrence Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF OPERATION STREAMLINE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than December 31, 2009, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in Cooperation with the Attorney General, shall 
expand Operation Streamline (the zero-tolerance prosecution policy for 
illegal entry and reentry) to all 20 border sectors.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $500,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2018 to carry out this section.

SEC. 3. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY.

    Section 275 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1325) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Improper Time or Place; Criminal Penalties.--Any alien who is 
apprehended while entering, or attempting to enter, the United States 
at a time and place other than as designated by immigration offices--
            ``(1) in the case of a first violation of subsection (a), 
        shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 
        10 days and not more than 364 days;
            ``(2) in the case of a second violation of subsection (a), 
        shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 
        60 days and not more than 2 years; and
            ``(3) in the case of a third or subsequent violation of 
        subsection (a), shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 
        not less than 90 days and not more than 3 years.''.

SEC. 4. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR ILLEGAL REENTRY.

    Section 276 (8 U.S.C. 1326) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 276. REENTRY OF REMOVED ALIEN.

    ``(a) Reentry After Removal.--Any alien who has been denied 
admission, excluded, deported, or removed, or who has departed the 
United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is 
outstanding, and subsequently enters, attempts to enter, crosses the 
border to, attempts to cross the border to, or is at any time found in 
the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, 
and imprisoned not less than 90 days and not more than 2 years.
    ``(b) Reentry of Criminal Offenders.--Notwithstanding the penalty 
prescribed under subsection (a), an alien described in that subsection 
who was--
            ``(1) convicted for 3 or more misdemeanors or a felony 
        before such removal or departure, shall be fined under title 
        18, United States Code, and imprisoned for not less than 1 year 
        and not more than 10 years;
            ``(2) convicted for a felony before such removal or 
        departure for which the alien was sentenced to a term of 
        imprisonment of not less than 30 months, shall be fined under 
        such title, and imprisoned for not less than 2 years and not 
        more than 15 years;
            ``(3) convicted for a felony before such removal or 
        departure for which the alien was sentenced to a term of 
        imprisonment of not less than 60 months, shall be fined under 
        such title and imprisoned for not less than 4 years and not 
        more than 20 years;
            ``(4) convicted for 2 or more felonies before such removal 
        or departure, shall be fined under such title and imprisoned 
        for not less than 4 years and for not more than 20 years; or
            ``(5) convicted, before such removal or departure, for 
        murder, rape, kidnapping, for a felony offense described in 
        chapter 77 (relating to peonage and slavery) or 113B (relating 
        to terrorism) of such title, shall be fined under such title 
        and imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 20 
        years.
    ``(c) Reentry After Repeated Removal.--Any alien who, after having 
been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed 2 or more times, 
enters, attempts to enter, crosses the border to, attempts to cross the 
border to, or is at any time found in the United States, shall be fined 
under title 18, United States Code, and imprisoned for not less than 2 
years and not more than 10 years.
    ``(d) Proof of Prior Convictions.--The prior convictions described 
in subsection (b) are elements of the crimes described in that 
subsection, and the penalties in that subsection shall apply only in 
cases in which the conviction or convictions that form the basis for 
the additional penalty are--
            ``(1) alleged in the indictment or information; and
            ``(2) proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial or admitted 
        by the defendant.
    ``(e) Affirmative Defenses.--It shall be an affirmative defense to 
a violation of this section that--
            ``(1) the alien had sought and received, before the alleged 
        violation, the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security to reapply for admission into the United States;
            ``(2) with respect to an alien previously denied admission 
        and removed, the alien--
                    ``(A) was not required to obtain such advance 
                consent under the Immigration and Nationality Act or 
                under any prior Act; and
                    ``(B) had complied with all other laws and 
                regulations governing the alien's admission into the 
                United States; or
            ``(3) at the time of the prior exclusion, deportation, 
        removal, or denial of admission alleged in the violation, the 
        alien--
                    ``(A) was younger than 18 years of age; and
                    ``(B) had not been convicted of a crime or 
                adjudicated a delinquent minor by a court of the United 
                States, or a court of a State or territory, for conduct 
                that would constitute a felony if committed by an 
                adult.
    ``(f) Limitation on Collateral Attack on Underlying Removal 
Order.--In a criminal proceeding under this section, an alien may not 
challenge the validity of any prior removal order concerning the alien 
unless the alien demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that--
            ``(1) the alien exhausted all administrative remedies that 
        may have been available to seek relief against the order;
            ``(2) the removal proceedings at which the order was issued 
        improperly deprived the alien of the opportunity for judicial 
        review; and
            ``(3) the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair.
    ``(g) Reentry of Alien Removed Before Completing Term of 
Imprisonment.--Any alien removed pursuant to section 241(a)(4) who 
enters, attempts to enter, crosses the border to, attempts to cross the 
border to, or is at any time found in, the United States shall be--
            ``(1) incarcerated for the remainder of the term of 
        imprisonment, which was pending at the time of deportation 
        without any reduction for parole or supervised release unless 
        the alien affirmatively demonstrates that the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security has expressly consented to the alien's 
        reentry; and
            ``(2) subject to such other penalties relating to the 
        reentry of removed aliens as may be available under this 
        section or any other provision of law.
    ``(h) Limitation.--An individual who provides an alien with 
emergency humanitarian assistance, including emergency medical care and 
food, or transports the alien to a location where such assistance can 
be rendered without compensation or the expectation of compensation may 
not be prosecuted for aiding and abetting a violation of this section 
based on the provision of such humanitarian services .
    ``(i) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Felony.--The term `felony' means any criminal offense 
        punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year under 
        the laws of the United States, of any State, or of a foreign 
        government.
            ``(2) Misdemeanor.--The term `misdemeanor' means any 
        criminal offense punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment 
        of not more than 1 year under the applicable laws of the United 
        States, of any State, or of a foreign government.
            ``(3) Removal.--The term `removal' includes any denial of 
        admission, exclusion, deportation, or removal, or any agreement 
        by which an alien stipulates or agrees to exclusion, 
        deportation, or removal.
            ``(4) State.--The term `State' means any of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any 
        commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.''.

SEC. 5. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR DESTROYING BORDER BARRIERS OR 
              INFRASTRUCTURE.

    Section 1361 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Whoever'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Destruction of Border Barriers or Infrastructure.--Any alien 
who damages or destroys fencing or infrastructure, such as cameras, 
sensors, and vehicle barriers, that has been installed along the 
international border of the United States by the United States 
Government shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less 
than 5 years.''.
                                                       Calendar No. 594

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2709

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To increase the criminal penalties for illegally reentering the United 
                     States and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 6, 2008

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar