[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9631-S9632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. McCain, and Mrs. Hutchison):
S. 3892. A bill to reduce the number of deaths along the border
between the United States and Mexico by improving the placement of
rescue beacons, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, one cold May morning earlier this year, a
Border Patrol agent found the body of a 3-year-old boy in a blue
windbreaker, his arms crossed. He had died trying to cross our southern
border, the youngest victim our borders have claimed this year.
The boy's mother's name is Edith Rodriguez. She is 25 years old. She
attempted to cross the border illegally, in hopes that she might escape
the desperate poverty of her home state of Veracruz, Mexico. Edith
hired a human smuggler--a coyote.
The coyote gave his charges an illegal drug, ephedrine, to help them
keep awake and moving. But Edith and her son still could not keep up
with the group. So the coyote, in a cruel and heartless act, abandoned
them in the desert. Alone. With no food and little water, with a
dangerous drug coursing through his system, exposed to the elements--
Edith Rodriguez's little boy died.
Edith Rodriguez violated the laws of the United States when she
crossed the border illegally. She was wrong to violate our border. But
all should agree that her son did not deserve to die.
Here are the facts: Every 18\1/2\ hours, someone dies trying to cross
the border between the United States and Mexico. About a year ago, I
asked the Government Accountability Office to study the deaths that
take place along America's borders.
Today, my office released that study. The results are sobering,
shocking, and, I strongly believe, a cause for action. Since 1995,
deaths along our borders have doubled. Despite the heroic rescue
efforts of the men and women of Customs and Border Protection, things
have gotten worse. In 1995, 266 people
[[Page S9632]]
died trying to cross our borders. Last year, 427 perished.
The increases, it appears, stem largely from an increase in deaths
from exposure to the elements in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. Illegal
entries, however, have not increased. Quite frankly, it is getting more
dangerous to cross our border.
Until recently, CBP did not even keep a systematic count of those who
died crossing our borders. We still do not have a unified national
strategy for reducing the deaths. We still do not know how well our
safety efforts work--if they are saving lives or not. We need to do
more.
The founding document of our Nation, the Declaration of Independence,
lists ``life'' first on the list of Government's responsibilities. The
overwhelming majority of the people who cross our border do so in
search of a better life. They take enormous risks and make enormous
investments in hopes of helping their families.
Illegal immigration needs to stop. We must defend our borders. We
must construct physical barriers, add detention beds, hire personnel,
and equip them with better technology. But we have a higher moral
obligation to protect the life of every person--every man, woman, and
child--who sets foot on American soil. We must do everything in our
power to preserve life.
That is why I propose the Border Death Reduction Act. I urge my
colleagues to support it.
The law will implement the GAO's recommendations. It will require CBP
to create a strategy for reducing border deaths. It will mandate a full
count of deaths along the border. It will impose tough, new penalties
on coyotes who abandon their charges, and it will expand the network of
rescue beacons that people in trouble can use to call for help.
These beacons, I believe, are an absolutely vital link in our border
security system. Let me explain. Rescue beacons are devices at
prominent locations that individuals can activate when they need help.
They are tall polls with lights at the top and radio transmitters
inside. People in trouble can activate a beacon to let CBP know that
they need help. We know that beacons work: CBP has already saved dozens
of people based entirely on beacon alerts.
But individuals who activate beacons do not get a free pass. They
will, of course, receive necessary medical treatment. But rescued
individuals will still be detained and deported like anyone else who
violates our borders.
Deploying more beacons in the desert will save lives in the desert
and simultaneously improve the security of our frontiers.
We cannot delay. We should not rest. We must protect the lives of all
those who set foot upon our soil. I urge my colleagues to support the
Border Death Reduction Act.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 3892
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 Death Reduction Act
of 2006''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF A RESCUE BEACON.
In this Act, the term ``rescue beacon'' means a clearly
visible device with an internal power source that is placed
in an area likely to experience extreme weather, that
contains instructions for its use, and by means of lights,
radio signals, and other means, allows individuals to alert
the United States Customs and Border Protection of their
presence.
SEC. 3. COLLECTION OF STATISTICS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Customs shall
begin collecting data relevant to deaths occurring at the
border between the United States and Mexico, divided by
sector, and including--
(1) the causes of the deaths;
(2) the total number of deaths;
(3) the location of deaths; and
(4) demographic characteristics, including the sex and
approximate age of those deceased.
(b) Development of Protocols.--The Commissioner of Customs
shall develop consistent, formal, written protocols for the
collection of data described in subsection (a).
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON BORDER DEATHS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of
Customs shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security a
report that contains--
(1) an analysis of trends with respect to the statistics
collected under section (3)(a)(1) during the preceding year;
(2) an evaluation, using multivariate statistical
approaches, of the Border Safety Initiative, including any
rescue beacons deployed, and any successor program designed
to reduce deaths along the border described in section 3(a);
and
(3) recommendations of particular actions to reduce the
deaths described in section 3(a).
SEC. 5. REPORT ON BEACON PLACEMENT.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than 6 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of
Customs shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security a
report on enhancing the deployment of rescue beacons.
(b) Focus of Report.--Such report shall contain particular
emphasis on enhancing the deployment of rescue beacons in the
Tucson Sector.
(c) Contents of Report.--The report required by subsection
(a) shall include--
(1) an assessment of the efficacy of the deployment of
rescue beacons in light of the statistics gathered under
section 3, including analysis of the locations of deaths
recorded and areas frequented by illegal migrants; and
(2) recommendations on where additional rescue beacons
should be placed to reduce the number of deaths in the area
described by section 3 and section 5(b).
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated $500,000 to carry out the provisions of
this section.
SEC. 6. DEPLOYMENT OF ENHANCED BEACON NETWORK.
(a) Deployment of Rescue Beacons.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner
of Customs shall deploy additional rescue beacons in all
areas recommended in the report required by section 5.
(b) Guidelines for Placement of Rescue Beacons.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Commissioner of Customs shall issue to all sector chiefs
formal, written guidelines for the ongoing placement and
removal of rescue beacons and the appropriate response to the
activation of such beacons.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated $1,500,000 to carry out the provisions of
this section.
SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON ABANDONMENT OF ALIENS IN A BORDER
ZONE.
(a) In General.--Any person who commits an act described in
section 274(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A)) and abandons an alien with respect
to that act in a place not within sight of a paved road or
rescue beacon, shall be considered to have placed in jeopardy
the life of a person as described in section
274(a)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(B)(iii)).
(b) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit any person from being held in violation
of section 274(a)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324
(B)(iii)).
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