[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 63 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E793-E795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




FLOYD D. SPENCE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. SILVESTRE REYES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 17, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4205) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2001 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     fiscal year 2001, and for other purposes.

  Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I insert the following materials for the 
Record.

                               Assistant Secretary of Defense,

                                     Washington, DC, May 17, 2000.
     Hon. Floyd D. Spence,
     Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Pursuant to Section 1027(b) of the 
     National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000 
     (Public Law 106-65, Oct. 5, 1999), please find the enclosed 
     report on the use of military personnel to support civilian 
     law enforcement. The report addresses:
       1. The plan described in Section 1027(a);
       2. A discussion of the risks and benefits associated with 
     using military personnel to support civilian law enforcement;
       3. Recommendations; and
       4. The total number of active and reserve members, and 
     members of the National Guard whose activities were supported 
     using funds provided under section 112 of Title 32,

[[Page E794]]

     United States Code, who participated in drug interdiction 
     activities or otherwise provided support for civilian law 
     enforcement during fiscal year 1999.
       Thank you for your continued support of the Department's 
     counterdrug efforts. If I can be of further assistance, 
     please do not hesitate to contact me.
           Sincerely,
                                                     ------ ------
                                          (For Brian E. Sheridan).
     Enclosure: As stated.
     CC: The Honorable Ike Skelton, Ranking Minority Member.


Report Pursuant to Sec. 1027 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
        for Fiscal Year 2000, Public Law 106-65, October 5, 1999

       Pursuant to Sec. 1027(b) of the National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, Public Law 106-65, 
     the Department of Defense is required to report to Congress 
     on use of military personnel to support civilian law 
     enforcement. The report is set out below.

                           Subsection (b)(1)

       Section 1027(a)(1) plan to assign members of the Army, 
     Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps to assist the Immigration 
     and Naturalization Service or the United States Customs 
     Service should the President determine, and the Attorney 
     General or the Secretary of the Treasury, as the case may be, 
     certify, that military personnel are required to respond to a 
     threat to national security posed by the entry into the 
     United States of terrorists or drug traffickers.
       As a first step towards compliance with Section 1027(a), 
     Department of Defense (DoD) representatives met with the 
     senior leadership of the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service and the United States Customs Service on several 
     occasions, to identify any requirements that either agency 
     had that would necessitate actually assigning members of the 
     Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps to respond to a threat 
     to national security posed by the entry into the United 
     States of terrorists or drug traffickers. In the end, neither 
     the Immigration and Naturalization Service or the United 
     States Customs Service could envision a scenario which would 
     require such assignments. Instead, both agencies expected 
     that they would use the existing system of plans and 
     procedures to increase the level of support from DoD 
     personnel who would report through the existing military 
     chain of command. Both the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service and the United States Customs Service agreed that the 
     current level of counterdrug support that DoD provides in the 
     form of Title 1004 Domestic support through Joint Task Force 
     (JTF) 6 and Title 32 State Plans National Guard support is 
     adequate to meet their current requirements. The fact that 
     neither agency envisioned requirements to assign military 
     members to their agencies precluded DoD's development of a 
     plan.

                        Subsections (b)(2) & (3)

       In light of the forgoing, DoD could not assess the risk and 
     benefits and could not make recommendations regarding the 
     functions outlined in the plan associated with using military 
     personnel to provide law enforcement support described in 
     subsection (A)(2).

                           Subsection (b)(4)

       The total number of active and reserve members, and members 
     of the National Guard whose activities were supported using 
     funds provided under section 112 of title 32, United States 
     Code, who participated in drug interdiction activities or 
     otherwise provided support for civilian law enforcement 
     during fiscal year 1999.
       Section 112 of Title 32, United States Code authorizes the 
     Secretary of Defense to fund the Governors use of National 
     Guardsmen, acting in state status, for drug interdiction and 
     counter drug activities. Consequently, there were no active 
     and reserve members, who participated in drug interdiction 
     activities or otherwise provided support for civilian law 
     enforcement during fiscal year 1999, whose activities were 
     supported using funds provided under section 112 of Title 32. 
     There were 3,429 National Guardsmen, who participated in drug 
     interdiction activities or otherwise provided support for 
     civilian law enforcement during fiscal year 1999, whose 
     activities were supported using funds provided under section 
     112 of Title 32, United States Code.


                               CONCLUSION

       During informal discussions with the Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service, 
     both agencies responded that they could manage normal traffic 
     flow at the border and accordingly, they could not envision 
     any requirements that would require assigning members of the 
     Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps to their respective 
     agencies to respond to a threat to national security posed by 
     the entry into the United States of terrorists or drug 
     traffickers. In emergencies the DoD will respond to requests 
     for support as required. This type of support request does 
     not necessitate assigning members of the Army, Navy, Air 
     Force, or Marine Corps to the requesting agency. Instead, DoD 
     develops plans to support other federal agencies in cases of 
     an emergency situation such as, operation ``Graphic Hand'' 
     which is implemented in case of a postal service strike, and 
     operation ``Garden Plot'' which is implemented in the event 
     of civil disturbances that exceed the capabilities of 
     civilian law enforcement. Of particular interest for the 
     purpose of this report is operation ``Distant Shores'' which 
     is implemented to support the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service in immigration emergencies. Within DoD, the Director 
     of Military Support is the executive agent for the DoD for 
     domestic support. Director of Military Support manages plans 
     and directives to facilitate support requests from other 
     agencies. These and other plans are updated annually to meet 
     new requirements that arise or to address changes requested 
     by the supported agencies. To execute a plan, the agency 
     requests support through the Executive branch and a request 
     is sent to the Secretary of Defense for possible tasking to 
     the Director of Military Support. The Director then 
     coordinates the DoD response required by the emergency 
     situation.
       Outside the terrorist and drug trafficker support there 
     exist a good example of DoD support and planning. The 
     following is a short synopsis from a letter signed by 
     Attorney General Janet Reno of how DoD supports Federal law 
     enforcement agencies during declared emergency situations 
     using the Mass Immigration Emergency Plan (attached), 
     referred to as ``Distance Shores'' by DoD: ``The purpose of 
     the Mass Immigration Emergency Plan is to protect the 
     national security and facilitate the coordination of all 
     types of Federal emergency response activities to deal with 
     emerging or ongoing mass illegal immigration to the United 
     States. The Plan outlines the planning assumptions, policies, 
     concept of operations, organizational structures, and 
     specific assignments of responsibility of the departments and 
     agencies in working together to enforce Federal laws to 
     protect the sovereignty and security for the United States.''
       Additional factors that should be considered in the context 
     of assigning members of the armed forces to the Immigration 
     and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs 
     Service are that doing so harms military readiness, and that 
     the risk of potential confrontation between civilians and 
     military members far out weighs the benefit.
       Section 1027 requires that the members that are assigned to 
     assist the federal law enforcement agencies receive law 
     enforcement training. It is not in DoD's military interest to 
     require training in search and seizure arrests, use of force 
     against civilians, criminal processing techniques, 
     preservation of evidence, and court testimony. This type of 
     training has minimal military value and detracts from 
     training with warfighting equipment for warfighting missions. 
     Furthermore, this type of training competes with military 
     training for the member's time. It will lead to decreased 
     military training, which reduces unit readiness levels, 
     military preparedness, and overall combat effectiveness of 
     the Armed Forces.
       Any expansion in the potential for armed confrontation 
     between military and civilians in the United States increases 
     the risk of a serious incident involving the loss of life. 
     DoD's experience with the incident near Marfa, Texas 
     illustrates graphically that risk.

   [Reformatted Coordination Draft Limited Official Use Reformatted 
                          Coordination Draft]

                    Mass Immigration Emergency Plan


                                Foreword

       The Mass Immigration Emergency Plan presents guidelines for 
     a coordinated effort by the Federal government, at the 
     national, regional, and local level, to enforce Federal laws 
     to deter, interdict, and control massive illegal immigration 
     to the United States. The Plan draws on the unique resources, 
     authorities, and capabilities of a large number of Federal 
     departments and agencies, with the support of State and local 
     government and voluntary agencies, to work together to 
     maintain the integrity of our national borders, protect 
     public health, and control the admission of immigrants and 
     refugees.
       The Mass Immigration Emergency Plan was developed through 
     the efforts of 37 departments and agencies, and the special 
     work of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) 
     Intelligence Division at the national level, and INS regional 
     and district offices and Border Patrol sectors. The INS has 
     worked to ensure that departments and agencies with 
     identified responsibilities in the Plan have fully 
     participated in planning and exercise activities in order to 
     develop, maintain, and enhance the concerted Federal 
     emergency response capability.
       The purpose of the Mass Immigration Emergency Plan is to 
     protect the national security and facilitate the coordination 
     of all types of Federal emergency response activities to deal 
     with an emerging or ongoing mass illegal immigration to the 
     United States. The plan outlines the planning assumptions, 
     policies, concept of operations, organizational, structures, 
     and specific assignments of responsibility of the departments 
     and agencies in working together to enforce Federal laws to 
     protect the sovereignty and security of the United States.
       The Department of Justice appreciates the cooperation and 
     support of those departments and agencies which have 
     contributed to the development and publication of this plan.
                                                       Janet Reno,
                                                 Attorney General.

                               Basic Plan


                                Overview

       The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) 
     establishes authority and procedures for controlling 
     immigration to

[[Page E795]]

     the United States. The Act charges the Attorney General with 
     the administration and enforcement of all laws relating to 
     immigration and naturalization of aliens.
       During 1981, the President of the United States directed 
     the Attorney General to coordinate the development of a 
     contingency plan for a government-wide response to a mass 
     illegal immigration emergency. In January 1983, the 
     Department of Justice completed the preparation of the Mass 
     Immigration Emergency Plan, hereafter referred to as the 
     Plan, which outlined requirements and procedures for a 
     coordinated Federal effort utilizing the resources of 
     appropriate agencies to control an attempted illegal mass 
     immigration.
       In 1992 the Attorney General directed the Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service to coordinate the review of the Plan 
     to address changes in Federal resources which would be 
     available to respond to an immigration emergency, and deal 
     with the recent and emerging problems relating to mass 
     illegal immigration. The Plan, as updated in this edition, is 
     designed to address the sudden or rapidly escalating arrival 
     of large numbers of aliens attempting to enter illegally or 
     being smuggled to the United States.
       The Plan describes the basic mechanisms and structures by 
     which the Federal government will deploy resources and 
     coordinates multi-agency law enforcement and other operations 
     to address the emergency situation. In following the model of 
     the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Federal 
     Response Plan for natural and technological disasters, the 
     Plan uses a functional approach to group types of operational 
     and support activities under 10 Emergency Response Functions 
     (ERF) which are most likely to be conducted during a mass 
     immigration emergency. Each ERF is headed by a primary 
     agency, which has been selected based on its authorities, 
     resources, and capabilities in the particular functional 
     area. Other agencies are designated as support agencies for 
     one or more ERF based on their authorities, resources, and 
     capabilities in the particular functional area. Law 
     enforcement and other functions of the Plan
       The Plan serves as a foundation for the further development 
     of detailed headquarters, regional, and local plans and 
     procedures to implement Federal and State responsibilities in 
     a timely and efficient manner.


                                Purpose

       The Plan establishes an architecture for a systematic, 
     coordinated, and effective Federal response. The purpose of 
     the Plan is to:
       Establish fundamental assumptions and policies.
       Establish a concept of operations that provides an 
     interagency coordination mechanism to facilitate the 
     implementation of the Plan.
       Incorporate the coordination mechanisms and structure of 
     other appropriate Federal plans and responsibilities.
       Assign specific functional responsibilities to appropriate 
     Federal departments and agencies.
       Identify actions that participating Federal departments and 
     agencies will take in the overall Federal response, in 
     coordination with affected States.


                           Scope of the Plan

       The Plan applies to all Federal departments and agencies 
     which are tasked to provide resources and conduct activities 
     in an immigration emergency situation.
       Under the Plan, a State means any State of the United 
     States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
     Islands, and Guam.
       The Plan describes Federal actions to be taken in immediate 
     and ongoing emergency response operations. The identified 
     actions in the Plan, carried out under the ERFs, are based on 
     existing Federal agency statutory authorities and resources.
       In some instances, an immigration emergency may result in a 
     situation which affects the national security of the United 
     States. For those instances, appropriate national security 
     authorities and procedures will be used to address the 
     national security requirements of the situation.


                        Organization of the Plan

       The Plan is organized in four sections:
       The Basic Plan describes purpose, scope, situation, 
     policies and concept of operations of Federal response 
     activity.
       The Emergency Response Functions Annex describes the 
     planning assumptions, concept of operations, and 
     responsibilities of each ERF.
       The Support Annex describes the areas of Financial 
     Management, Public Information, Congressional Relations, and 
     International Relations.
       The Appendix to the Plan includes a list of acronyms and 
     abbreviations, definitions of terms, a list of authorities 
     and directives, and indexes of agency references and key Plan 
     terms.

     

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