[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S459-S464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Sessions):
  S. 276. A bill to strengthen the consequences of the fraudulent use 
of United States or foreign passports and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, Senator Sessions and I are introducing 
legislation today that will enhance our national security by expanding 
and strengthening the current passport and visa fraud laws.
  The Passport and Visa Security Act bill adds much needed law to 
punish trafficking in passports and visas and clarifies the current 
criminal law. It also punishes those who engage in schemes to defraud 
immigrants based on changes in the immigration law.
  This bill is an improved version of a bill Senator Sessions and I 
introduced in the 109th Congress. We both have long been concerned 
about the need to strengthen our national security by strengthening our 
document fraud laws.
  In fact, we introduced our passport fraud bill well before the 
comprehensive immigration reform bill was passed in the Senate last 
Spring.
  For that reason, I was pleased that the comprehensive immigration 
reform bill contained important document fraud provisions. This bill 
builds on those provisions.
  The evidence has shown repeatedly that false immigration documents 
provide a gateway for organized crime and terrorism. The need to take 
action against this crime is clear.
  For too long, the Federal Government has moved too slowly--or not at 
all--to enhance our border security. According to the 9/11 National 
Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel, prior to September 11, 
2001, no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a 
tool in the counterterrorism arsenal.
  Still today, over five years since the tragic attacks on September 
11, the Federal Government has failed to devote sufficient time, 
technology, personnel and resources to make border security a 
cornerstone of our national security policy.

[[Page S460]]

  Last year, Congress passed a law to build a border fence. I believe 
this law was an important first step, but a fence alone cannot 
sufficiently protect our vulnerable borders.
  In fact, as the 9/11 Commission report demonstrates, individuals with 
fraudulent documents can pose a far greater threat to our national 
security than those traveling with no documents at all.
  Fraudulent documents give criminals free reign to create a new 
identity and to plan and carry out attacks in the United States.
  We know, for example, that at least two of the 9/11 hijackers used 
passports that were altered when they entered this country and as many 
as 15 of the 19 hijackers could have been intercepted by border 
officials, based in part on their travel documents.
  The 9/11 Commission Report detailed the way the terrorist operatives 
carefully selected the documents they used for travel--most often 
relying on fraudulent ones.
  The terrorists altered passports by substituting photographs, adding 
false visas, bleaching stamps, and by substituting pages.
  The terrorists devoted extensive resources to acquiring and 
manipulating passports--all to avoid detection of their nefarious 
activities and objectives.
  Today, over five years later, Interpol reports that they have records 
of more than 12 million stolen and lost travel documents from 113 
different countries. These are only the ones we know about.
  Interpol estimates that 30 to 40 million travel documents have been 
stolen worldwide.
  We know that over the past few years, passport and visa forgery has 
become even easier thanks to home computers, digital photography, 
scanners and color laser printing.
  News articles document that passport and visa fraud has become so 
lucrative that gangs are offering franchises in the multimillion-dollar 
scam to forgers.
  Unfortunately, it's not only foreign passports that can be forged. 
Forged and fraudulent United States passports can be the most dangerous 
when in the wrong hands.
  With a U.S. passport, criminals can establish American citizenship 
and have unlimited access to virtually every country in the world.
  It's no surprise, then, that passport and visa fraud are often linked 
to other, very serious crimes in the United States and abroad: 
narcotics trafficking, organized crimes, money laundering, human 
trafficking, and identity theft.
  For example, this past December, the son of former Liberian President 
Charles Taylor, Charles McArthur Emmanuel, who headed a violent 
paramilitary unit in his father's government, was sentenced in Miami 
for passport fraud.
  A day later, a Federal grand jury indicted him on charges of torture 
and conspiracy involving acts committed in Liberia in 2002.
  Emmanuel, also known as Charles ``Chuckie'' Taylor and Roy Belfast 
Jr., was on Interpol's Most Wanted list and the United Nations travel 
watch list.
  Nevertheless, he escaped detection by falsifying his passport 
application, ultimately gaining easy entry and exit from the United 
States while he perpetrated his crimes.
  Despite evidence that these crimes are widespread and that millions 
of travel documents are on the black market, in 2004, the State 
Department's Diplomatic Security Service reports that it made about 500 
arrests for passport fraud, with only 300 convictions.
  For these reasons, Senator Sessions and I are introducing a bill 
today to strengthen current passport and visa laws in a number of key 
ways.
  First, this bill adds two new laws with strong penalties to punish 
those who traffic in fraudulent travel documents. The current law makes 
no distinction between those caught with multiple false travel 
documents--the very worst offenders who are often part of organized 
crime rings--and those with only one false document. Our bill would 
change that.
  The bill also updates the current travel document fraud laws--using 
plain language advocated for by the practitioners that passed the 
Senate as part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill.
  Thirdly, the bill adds provisions to the current passport and visa 
fraud laws to ensure that conspiracies and attempts to commit these 
crimes are investigated and prosecuted just as vigorously as the 
completed crime.
  Fourth--the bill makes explicit that there is extraterritorial 
jurisdiction over these offenses, so that individuals who counterfeit 
travel documents while abroad but are caught trying to enter the United 
States are still subject to prosecution.
  The bill also directs the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Commissions to 
reconsider the relatively low sentencing guidelines to reflect the 
potential seriousness of these crimes.
  Currently, offenders who engage in passport or visa fraud generally 
serve less than a year imprisonment, providing little incentive for 
U.S. Attorney's Offices to expend scarce resources in prosecuting these 
crimes.
  Finally, the bill creates a law to punish sham attorneys who cheat 
immigrants out of thousands of dollars by preying on their fears that 
they could be forced to leave the country. We know that when Congress 
discusses changing the immigration law, scam artists target and exploit 
these vulnerable populations. These crimes should not go unpunished.
  This bill provides much needed reform. It strengthens the security of 
documents used to illegally gain entry to this country and empowers the 
agents and prosecutors who enforce our borders to take swift and strong 
action against these criminals.
  I ask my colleagues to join Senator Sessions and me in supporting 
this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that a bill summary and the text of this bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the materials were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                   The Passport and Visa Security Act
                                of 2007


                              bill summary

       Adds two new crimes to penalize the trafficking in 10 or 
     more passports or visas and creates a 20 year maximum penalty 
     for violating these provisions. Under current law, there is 
     no specific provision punishing the trafficking of multiple 
     fraudulent documents and each document must be prosecuted 
     individually.
       Simplifies the language of the current passport and visa 
     fraud laws, specifically by changing the required criminal 
     intent from ``knowingly and wilfully'' to ``knowingly.'' The 
     maximum penalty for committing these crimes is amended from 
     10 years for a first or second offense and 15 years in the 
     case of any other offense to simply 15 years.
       Creates a new crime that would penalize those who engage in 
     schemes to defraud aliens in connection with matters 
     authorized by or arising under Federal immigration laws.
        Clarifies existing law that the maximum sentence for 
     passport fraud, when used to facilitate a drug trafficking 
     crime, is 20 years; and the maximum sentence for passport 
     fraud, when used to facilitate an act of international 
     terrorism is 25 years. (This change is technical, not 
     substantive, as these are the maximum penalties already in 
     the individual sections of the criminal code.)
       Adds language to punish conspiracies and attempts to commit 
     passport fraud and other false document crimes.
       Makes explicit that there is extraterritorial jurisdiction 
     over these offenses, so that the United States can prosecute 
     individuals who may have committed a passport fraud crime 
     while abroad (e.g., the law would reach someone who 
     manufactures fake passports in Cameroon and is arrested in 
     the United States).
       Adds a definitional section to clarify the terms used in 
     these laws.
       Directs the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Commissions to 
     reconsider the current low sentencing guidelines to reflect 
     the potential seriousness of these crimes and the changes 
     made by this bill.
       Creates a rebuttable presumption that a person who commits 
     one of these crimes, or who is found to be unlawfully in the 
     country after having already been ordered deported, is to be 
     detained pending trial.
       Adds language directing the Attorney General to create 
     binding regulations to ensure that the prosecution of these 
     crimes is in keeping with current U.S. treaty obligations 
     relating to refugees (which states that refugees carrying 
     false passports should not be prosecuted) without creating a 
     private right of action to enforce this provision.
       Clarifies that the Diplomatic Security Service (of the 
     State Department) has authority to investigate these new and 
     revised crimes (using the language found in the 109th 
     Congress Senate passed immigration bill, S. 2611). The 
     Diplomatic Security Service currently investigates passport 
     fraud, this section just clarifies their authority to do so.
       Clarifies that the same statute of limitations (10 years) 
     applies to all of the offenses

[[Page S461]]

     added or modified by this bill--again incorporating language 
     from the 109th Congress Senate passed immigration bill, S. 
     2611.
                                  ____


                                 S. 276

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Passport 
     and Visa Security Act of 2007''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

               TITLE I--REFORM OF PASSPORT FRAUD OFFENSES

Sec. 101. Trafficking in passports.
Sec. 102. False statement in an application for a passport.
Sec. 103. Forgery and unlawful production of a passport.
Sec. 104. Misuse of a passport.
Sec. 105. Schemes to defraud aliens.
Sec. 106. Immigration and visa fraud.
Sec. 107. Alternative imprisonment maximum for certain offenses.
Sec. 108. Attempts, conspiracies, jurisdiction, and definitions.
Sec. 109. Clerical amendment.

                        TITLE II--OTHER REFORMS

Sec. 201. Directive to the United States Sentencing Commission.
Sec. 202. Release and detention prior to disposition.
Sec. 203. Protection for legitimate refugees and asylum seekers.
Sec. 204. Diplomatic security service.
Sec. 205. Uniform statute of limitations for certain immigration, 
              passport, and naturalization offenses.

               TITLE I--REFORM OF PASSPORT FRAUD OFFENSES

     SEC. 101. TRAFFICKING IN PASSPORTS.

       Section 1541 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1541. Trafficking in passports

       ``(a) Multiple Passports.--Any person who, during any 
     period of 3 years or less, knowingly--
       ``(1) and without lawful authority produces, issues, or 
     transfers 10 or more passports;
       ``(2) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes 10 or 
     more passports;
       ``(3) secures, possesses, uses, receives, buys, sells, or 
     distributes 10 or more passports, knowing the passports to be 
     forged, counterfeited, altered, falsely made, stolen, 
     procured by fraud, or produced or issued without lawful 
     authority; or
       ``(4) completes, mails, prepares, presents, signs, or 
     submits 10 or more applications for a United States passport, 
     knowing the applications to contain any false statement or 
     representation,
     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 
     years, or both.
       ``(b) Passport Materials.--Any person who knowingly and 
     without lawful authority produces, buys, sells, possesses, or 
     uses any official material (or counterfeit of any official 
     material) used to make a passport, including any distinctive 
     paper, seal, hologram, image, text, symbol, stamp, engraving, 
     or plate, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not 
     more than 20 years, or both.''.

     SEC. 102. FALSE STATEMENT IN AN APPLICATION FOR A PASSPORT.

       Section 1542 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1542. False statement in an application for a passport

       ``(a) In General.--Whoever knowingly makes any false 
     statement or representation in an application for a United 
     States passport, or mails, prepares, presents, or signs an 
     application for a United States passport knowing the 
     application to contain any false statement or representation, 
     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.
       ``(b) Venue.--
       ``(1) In general.--An offense under subsection (a) may be 
     prosecuted in any district--
       ``(A) in which the false statement or representation was 
     made or the application for a United States passport was 
     prepared or signed; or
       ``(B) in which or to which the application was mailed or 
     presented.
       ``(2) Acts occurring outside the united states.--An offense 
     under subsection (a) involving an application for a United 
     States passport prepared and adjudicated outside the United 
     States may be prosecuted in the district in which the 
     resultant passport was or would have been produced.
       ``(c) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed to limit the venue otherwise available under 
     sections 3237 and 3238 of this title.''.

     SEC. 103. FORGERY AND UNLAWFUL PRODUCTION OF A PASSPORT.

       Section 1543 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1543. Forgery and unlawful production of a passport

       ``(a) Forgery.--Any person who knowingly--
       ``(1) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes any 
     passport; or
       ``(2) transfers any passport knowing it to be forged, 
     counterfeited, altered, falsely made, stolen, or to have been 
     produced or issued without lawful authority,

     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.
       ``(b) Unlawful Production.--Any person who knowingly and 
     without lawful authority--
       ``(1) produces, issues, authorizes, or verifies a passport 
     in violation of the laws, regulations, or rules governing the 
     issuance of the passport;
       ``(2) produces, issues, authorizes, or verifies a United 
     States passport for or to any person knowing or in reckless 
     disregard of the fact that such person is not entitled to 
     receive a passport; or
       ``(3) transfers or furnishes a passport to any person for 
     use by any person other than the person for whom the passport 
     was issued or designed,

     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.''.

     SEC. 104. MISUSE OF A PASSPORT.

       Section 1544 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1544. Misuse of a passport

       ``Any person who knowingly--
       ``(1) uses any passport issued or designed for the use of 
     another;
       ``(2) uses any passport in violation of the conditions or 
     restrictions therein contained, or in violation of the laws, 
     regulations, or rules governing the issuance and use of the 
     passport;
       ``(3) secures, possesses, uses, receives, buys, sells, or 
     distributes any passport knowing it to be forged, 
     counterfeited, altered, falsely made, procured by fraud, or 
     produced or issued without lawful authority; or
       ``(4) violates the terms and conditions of any safe conduct 
     duly obtained and issued under the authority of the United 
     States,

     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.''.

     SEC. 105. SCHEMES TO DEFRAUD ALIENS.

       Section 1545 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1545. Schemes to defraud aliens

       ``(a) In General.--Any person who knowingly executes a 
     scheme or artifice, in connection with any matter that is 
     authorized by or arises under Federal immigration laws or any 
     matter the offender claims or represents is authorized by or 
     arises under Federal immigration laws, to--
       ``(1) defraud any person; or
       ``(2) obtain or receive money or anything else of value 
     from any person by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, 
     representations, promises,

     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.
       ``(b) Misrepresentation.--Any person who knowingly and 
     falsely represents that such person is an attorney or an 
     accredited representative (as that term is defined in section 
     1292.1 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 
     successor regulation to such section)) in any matter arising 
     under Federal immigration laws shall be fined under this 
     title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.''.

     SEC. 106. IMMIGRATION AND VISA FRAUD.

       Section 1546 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1546. Immigration and visa fraud

       ``(a) In General.--Any person who knowingly--
       ``(1) uses any immigration document issued or designed for 
     the use of another;
       ``(2) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes any 
     immigration document;
       ``(3) completes, mails, prepares, presents, signs, or 
     submits any immigration document knowing it to contain any 
     materially false statement or representation;
       ``(4) secures, possesses, uses, transfers, receives, buys, 
     sells, or distributes any immigration document knowing it to 
     be forged, counterfeited, altered, falsely made, stolen, 
     procured by fraud, or produced or issued without lawful 
     authority;
       ``(5) adopts or uses a false or fictitious name to evade or 
     to attempt to evade the immigration laws; or
       ``(6) transfers or furnishes, without lawful authority, an 
     immigration document to another person for use by a person 
     other than the person for whom the passport was issued or 
     designed,

     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 
     years, or both.
       ``(b) Trafficking.--Any person who, during any period of 3 
     years or less, knowingly--
       ``(1) and without lawful authority produces, issues, or 
     transfers 10 or more immigration documents;
       ``(2) forges, counterfeits, alters, or falsely makes 10 or 
     more immigration documents;
       ``(3) secures, possesses, uses, buys, sells, or distributes 
     10 or more immigration documents, knowing the immigration 
     documents to be forged, counterfeited, altered, stolen, 
     falsely made, procured by fraud, or produced or issued 
     without lawful authority; or
       ``(4) completes, mails, prepares, presents, signs, or 
     submits 10 or more immigration documents knowing the 
     documents to contain any materially false statement or 
     representation,

     shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 
     years, or both.
       ``(c) Immigration Document Materials.--Any person who 
     knowingly and without lawful authority produces, buys, sells, 
     possesses, or uses any official material (or counterfeit of 
     any official material) used to make immigration documents, 
     including any distinctive paper, seal, hologram, image, text, 
     symbol, stamp, engraving, or plate, shall be fined under this 
     title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
       ``(d) Employment Documents.--Whoever uses--

[[Page S462]]

       ``(1) an identification document, knowing (or having reason 
     to know) that the document was not issued lawfully for the 
     use of the possessor;
       ``(2) an identification document knowing (or having reason 
     to know) that the document is false; or
       ``(3) a false attestation,

     for the purpose of satisfying a requirement of section 
     274A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1324a(b)), shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not 
     more than 5 years, or both.''.

     SEC. 107. ALTERNATIVE IMPRISONMENT MAXIMUM FOR CERTAIN 
                   OFFENSES.

       Section 1547 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``(other than an offense under section 1545)'';
       (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``15'' and inserting 
     ``20''; and
       (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``20'' and inserting 
     ``25''.

     SEC. 108. ATTEMPTS, CONSPIRACIES, JURISDICTION, AND 
                   DEFINITIONS.

       Chapter 75 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding after section 1547 the following new sections:

     ``Sec. 1548. Attempts and conspiracies

       ``Any person who attempts or conspires to violate any 
     section of this chapter shall be punished in the same manner 
     as a person who completed a violation of that section.

     ``Sec. 1549. Additional jurisdiction

       ``(a) In General.--Any person who commits an offense under 
     this chapter within the special maritime and territorial 
     jurisdiction of the United States shall be punished as 
     provided under this chapter.
       ``(b) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--Any person who 
     commits an offense under this chapter outside the United 
     States shall be punished as provided under this chapter if--
       ``(1) the offense involves a United States passport or 
     immigration document (or any document purporting to be such a 
     document) or any matter, right, or benefit arising under or 
     authorized by Federal immigration laws;
       ``(2) the offense is in or affects foreign commerce;
       ``(3) the offense affects, jeopardizes, or poses a 
     significant risk to the lawful administration of Federal 
     immigration laws, or the national security of the United 
     States;
       ``(4) the offense is committed to facilitate an act of 
     international terrorism (as defined in section 2331) or a 
     drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 929(a)(2)) that 
     affects or would affect the national security of the United 
     States;
       ``(5) the offender is a national of the United States or an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as those 
     terms are defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))); or
       ``(6) the offender is a stateless person whose habitual 
     residence is in the United States.

     ``Sec. 1550. Authorized law enforcement activities

       ``Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any lawfully 
     authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence 
     activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a 
     State, or a political subdivision of a State, or an 
     intelligence agency of the United States, or any activity 
     authorized under title V of the Organized Crime Control Act 
     of 1970 (Public Law 91-452; 84 Stat. 933).

     ``Sec. 1551. Definitions

       ``As used in this chapter:
       ``(1) The term `application for a United States passport' 
     includes any document, photograph, or other piece of evidence 
     submitted in support of an application for a United States 
     passport.
       ``(2) The term `false statement or representation' includes 
     a personation or an omission.
       ``(3) The term `immigration document'--
       ``(A) means any application, petition, affidavit, 
     declaration, attestation, form, visa, identification card, 
     alien registration document, employment authorization 
     document, border crossing card, certificate, permit, order, 
     license, stamp, authorization, grant of authority, or other 
     official document, arising under or authorized by the 
     immigration laws of the United States; and
       ``(B) includes any document, photograph, or other piece of 
     evidence attached to or submitted in support of an 
     immigration document described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(4) The term `immigration laws' includes--
       ``(A) the laws described in section 101(a)(17) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17));
       ``(B) the laws relating to the issuance and use of 
     passports; and
       ``(C) the regulations prescribed under the authority of any 
     law described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
       ``(5) A person does not exercise `lawful authority' if the 
     person abuses or improperly exercises lawful authority the 
     person otherwise holds.
       ``(6) The term `passport' means--
       ``(A) a travel document attesting to the identity and 
     nationality of the bearer that is issued under the authority 
     of the Secretary of State, a foreign government, or an 
     international organization; or
       ``(B) any instrument purporting to be a document described 
     in subparagraph (A).
       ``(7) The term `produce' means to make, prepare, assemble, 
     issue, print, authenticate, or alter.
       ``(8) The term `to present' means to offer or submit for 
     official processing, examination, or adjudication. Any such 
     presentation continues until the official processing, 
     examination, or adjudication is complete.
       ``(9) The `use' of a passport or an immigration document 
     referred to in section 1541(a), 1543(b), 1544, 1546(a), and 
     1546(b) of this chapter includes--
       ``(A) any officially authorized use;
       ``(B) use to travel;
       ``(C) use to demonstrate identity, residence, nationality, 
     citizenship, or immigration status;
       ``(D) use to seek or maintain employment; or
       ``(E) use in any matter within the jurisdiction of the 
     Federal government or of a State government.''.

     SEC. 109. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

       The table of sections for chapter 75 of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended to read as follows:

``Sec
``1541. Trafficking in passports.
``1542. False statement in an application for a passport.
``1543. Forgery and unlawful production of a passport.
``1544. Misuse of a passport.
``1545. Schemes to defraud aliens.
``1546. Immigration and visa fraud.
``1547. Alternative imprisonment maximum for certain offenses.
``1548. Attempts and conspiracies.
``1549. Additional jurisdiction.
``1550. Authorized law enforcement activities.
``1550. Definitions.''.

                        TITLE II--OTHER REFORMS

     SEC. 201. DIRECTIVE TO THE UNITED STATES SENTENCING 
                   COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--Pursuant to the authority under section 
     994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States 
     Sentencing Commission shall promulgate or amend the 
     sentencing guidelines, policy statements, and official 
     commentaries related to passport fraud offenses, including 
     the offenses described in chapter 75 of title 18, United 
     States Code, as amended by section 2, to reflect the serious 
     nature of such offenses.
       (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the United States Sentencing 
     Commission shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of 
     the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report on the implementation of this 
     section.

     SEC. 202. RELEASE AND DETENTION PRIOR TO DISPOSITION.

       (a) Detention.--Section 3142(e) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(e) Detention.--(1) If, after a hearing pursuant to the 
     provisions of subsection (f) of this section, the judicial 
     officer finds that no condition or combination of conditions 
     will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as 
     required and the safety of any other person and the 
     community, such judicial officer shall order the detention of 
     the person before trial.
       ``(2) In a case described in subsection (f)(1) of this 
     section, a rebuttable presumption arises that no condition or 
     combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety 
     of any other person and the community if such judicial 
     officer finds that--
       ``(A) the person has been convicted of a Federal offense 
     that is described in subsection (f)(1) of this section, or of 
     a State or local offense that would have been an offense 
     described in subsection (f)(1) of this section if a 
     circumstance giving rise to Federal jurisdiction had existed;
       ``(B) the offense described in subparagraph (A) of this 
     paragraph was committed while the person was on release 
     pending trial for a Federal, State, or local offense; and
       ``(C) a period of not more than five years has elapsed 
     since the date of conviction, or the release of the person 
     from imprisonment, for the offense described in subparagraph 
     (A) of this paragraph, whichever is later.
       ``(3) Subject to rebuttal by the person, it shall be 
     presumed that no condition or combination of conditions will 
     reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required 
     and the safety of the community if the judicial officer finds 
     that there is probable cause to believe that the person 
     committed an offense for which a maximum term of imprisonment 
     of ten years or more is prescribed in the Controlled 
     Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Controlled 
     Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 951 et seq.), or 
     chapter 705 of title 46, an offense under section 924(c), 
     956(a), or 2332b of this title, or an offense listed in 
     section 2332b(g)(5)(B) of this title for which a maximum term 
     of imprisonment of 10 years or more is prescribed, or an 
     offense involving a minor victim under section 1201, 1591, 
     2241, 2242, 2244(a)(1), 2245, 2251, 2251A, 2252(a)(1), 
     2252(a)(2), 2252(a)(3), 2252A(a)(1), 2252A(a)(2), 
     2252A(a)(3), 2252A(a)(4), 2260, 2421, 2422, 2423, or 2425 of 
     this title.
       ``(4) Subject to rebuttal by the person, it shall be 
     presumed that no condition or combination of conditions will 
     reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required if 
     the judicial officer finds that there is probable cause to 
     believe that the person--
       ``(A) is an alien; and
       ``(B)(i) has no lawful immigration status in the United 
     States;
       ``(ii) is the subject of a final order of removal; or
       ``(iii) has committed a felony offense under chapter 75 of 
     this title.''.
       (b) Factors to Be Considered.--Section 3142(g)(3) of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended--

[[Page S463]]

       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
     and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(C) the person's immigration status; and''.

     SEC. 203. PROTECTION FOR LEGITIMATE REFUGEES AND ASYLUM 
                   SEEKERS.

       (a) Protection for Legitimate Refugees and Asylum 
     Seekers.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop binding 
     prosecution guidelines for Federal prosecutors to ensure that 
     any prosecution of an alien seeking entry into the United 
     States by fraud is consistent with the United States treaty 
     obligations under Article 31(1) of the Convention Relating to 
     the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (as made 
     applicable by the Protocol Relating to the Status of 
     Refugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)).
       (b) No Private Right of Action.--The guidelines required by 
     subsection (a), and any internal office procedures adopted 
     pursuant thereto, are intended solely for the guidance of 
     attorneys for the United States. This section, such 
     guidelines, and the process for determining such guidelines 
     are not intended to, do not, and may not be relied upon to 
     create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
     enforceable at law by any party in any administrative, civil, 
     or criminal matter

     SEC. 204. DIPLOMATIC SECURITY SERVICE.

       Section 37(a)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities 
     Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2709(a)(1)) is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(1) conduct investigations concerning--
       ``(A) illegal passport or visa issuance or use;
       ``(B) identity theft or document fraud affecting or 
     relating to the programs, functions, and authorities of the 
     Department of State;
       ``(C) violations of chapter 77 of title 18, United States 
     Code; and
       ``(D) Federal offenses committed within the special 
     maritime and territorial jurisdiction defined in paragraph 
     (9) of section 7 of title 18, United States Code;''.

     SEC. 205. UNIFORM STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CERTAIN 
                   IMMIGRATION, PASSPORT, AND NATURALIZATION 
                   OFFENSES.

       (a) In General.--Section 3291 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 3291. Immigration, passport, and naturalization 
       offenses

       ``No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for a 
     violation of any section of chapters 69 (relating to 
     nationality and citizenship offenses) or 75 (relating to 
     passport and visa offenses) of this title, or for an attempt 
     or conspiracy to violate any such section, unless the 
     indictment is returned or the information is filed within ten 
     years after the commission of the offense.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
     213 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     the item relating to section 3291 and inserting the 
     following:

``3291. Immigration, passport, and naturalization offenses''.

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague Senator 
Feinstein for her hard work on document security issues. She currently 
serves as the Chair of the Judiciary Committee's Terrorism 
Subcommittee, Senator Kyl is Ranking Member, and I am looking forward 
to working with her on the document security that issues I am sure our 
subcommittee will address this Congress.
  This year will mark the 3rd year Senator Feinstein and I have worked 
together on legislation aimed at making it easier to prosecute people 
trying to enter the U.S. with fraudulent documents.
  One of the most dangerous document security issues we face is how to 
keep passports and visas out of the hands of the people we don't want 
to have them.
  As a 2004 U.S. News and World Report article rightly stated, ``When 
it comes to terrorists' most valuable weapons, passports and visas 
probably rank higher than bullets and bombs.'' A 2004 study done by the 
Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General titled ``A 
Review of the Use of Stolen Passports From Visa Waiver Countries to 
Enter the United States,'' found that ``[there are] over 10 million 
lost or stolen passports that might be in circulation.'' As background 
for the report, the Forensics Documents Laboratory informed the Office 
of the Inspector General that ``criminals consider a passport'' from a 
Visa Waiver Country ``a very valuable commodity.''
  To keep out terrorists and others we do not want to allow into the 
United States, we must be able to identify and effectively prosecute 
people who lie or give us fraudulent information to obtain a U.S. visa 
or a passport.
  Additionally, we must be able to identify and effectively prosecute 
people trying to enter the U.S. with a passport or visa that belongs to 
someone else.
  Perhaps most importantly, we must effectively prosecute those 
possessing multiple passports and visas they intend to distribute to 
others. We must be able to take these ``career'' document traffickers, 
those caught with more than 10 fraudulent passports or visas, off the 
streets.
  Under current law, violators are not being prosecuted effectively 
because there is no statute that specifically makes trafficking in 
multiple (10 or more) documents its own crime. This bill will add that 
new crime--punishable by 20 years in jail--to the passport and visa 
fraud sections of the criminal code.
  In addition to creating a new crime to penalize trafficking in 10 or 
more fraudulent immigration documents, 20 year maximum sentence, Title 
I of the bill simplifies the language of several of the current 
passport fraud provisions of the criminal code and changes the maximum 
penalties for these offenses from 10 years for the first offense and 15 
years for subsequent offenses, to simply 15 years for each offense.
  The bill also includes a new protection for immigrants. Anyone who 
engages in a scheme to defraud them in connection with matters under 
Federal immigration law, or who pretends to be an immigration lawyer, 
will be charged under a new crime that carries a maximum penalty of 15 
years. Although this provision is not strictly related to passport 
fraud, it will protect immigrants from sham attorneys and legal 
``experts'' who cheat them out of their money by pretending to offer 
them immigration benefits or legitimate documents.
  Many of the bill's provisions simply clean up sections of the 
criminal code. For example--one section modifies the alternative 
sentencing penalties to make sure the penalties for severe passport 
fraud offenses (such as those used to facilitate a drug trafficking 
crime or an act of international terrorism) are consistent throughout 
the code.
  Other provisions codify common law principles needed for effective 
prosecution of document fraud offenses. For example--one section makes 
needed clarifications on venue. Currently, false statements or 
documents are often included in the application which is mailed from 
one location but processed in another location. This section makes 
clear that the offense is perpetrated both at the location of the 
mailing and at the location of the adjudication. If the application 
containing false statements is prepared overseas, this section 
clarifies that the offense is still punishable in the United States.
  In March of 2004, Mark Zuckerman, Assistant U.S. Attorney for New 
Hampshire, testified before the United States Sentencing Commission. 
New Hampshire's National Passport Center processed 2 million of the 7 
million passports issued in 2003. The National Passport Center also 
receives nearly all of the applications for passport renewals filed 
with the State Department. New Hampshire conducted a passport fraud 
initiative in its U.S. Attorney's Office as part of its anti-terrorism 
effort. Zuckerman's testimony provides some insight into the problems 
that arose during the initiative.
  Though the passport applications were processed in New Hampshire, 
cases of passport fraud resulting from those applications were not 
being handled in New Hampshire. Typically, they were sent back to the 
district from which they were mailed. Once returned, they were often 
declined for prosecution by their local U.S. Attorney's office.
  One of the reasons frequently given by the regional U.S. Attorney's 
Offices for declining passport fraud cases was: ``The sentencing 
guidelines do not treat passport fraud as a serious offense for which a 
period of incarceration is likely.''
  I would reiterate what Mr. Zuckerman so astutely pointed out in his 
testimony. Under the current Criminal Code, the most common forms of 
passport fraud--unless they constitute terrorism or drug trafficking--
are just class C felonies. When the defendant has no criminal history, 
the court is simply required to incarcerate the defendant for 0-6 
months. This is the lowest and least consequential sentencing range 
that can be assigned to any felony under the U.S.

[[Page S464]]

Code. (page 5 of Zuckerman's testimony)
  The 9/11 Commission also recognized the lack of routine prosecutions 
for passport fraud offenses. Page 386 of their report noted:

       Fraudulent travel documents, for instance, are usually 
     returned to travelers who are denied entry without further 
     examination for terrorist trademarks, investigation into 
     their source, or legal process.

  Importantly, the bill we are introducing today directs the Sentencing 
Commission to reevaluate the current low sentencing guidelines for 
passport and visa fraud offenses to reflect the potential seriousness 
of these crimes and the changes made by our bill.
  Additionally, we will require the Sentencing Commission to report 
back to the Congress on the rationale behind their decision to change 
(or not change) the sentencing guidelines as a result of this 
direction.
  Majority Leader Harry Reid has repeatedly stated that one of the 
items at the top of the Democratic agenda early this Congress is the 
implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. In 
addition to their comments on the lack of prosecutions, the 9/11 
Commission had a lot more say about the use of fraudulent and altered 
passports and visas in the Commission of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

  ``[W]e endeavor to dispel the myth that their [the hijackers'] entry 
into the United States was `clean and legal'. It was not. . . . two 
[hijackers] carried passports manipulated in a fraudulent manner. It is 
likely that several more hijackers carried passports with similar 
fraudulent manipulation. Two hijackers lied on their visa 
applications'' Preface, 9/11 Commission staff report.
  ``To avoid detection of their activities and objectives while 
engaging in travel that necessitates using a passport, terrorists 
devote extensive resources to acquiring and manipulating passports, 
entry and exits stamps, and visas. The al Qaeda terrorist organization 
was no exception. High-level members of Al Qaeda were expert document 
forgers . . .'' Page 1. 9/11 Commission staff report.
  ``Travel history, however, is still recorded in passports with entry-
exit stamps called cachets, which al Qaeda has trained its operatives 
to forge and use to conceal their terrorist activities''. Page 403, 9/
11 Commission report.
  ``[C]ertain al Qaeda members were charged with organizing passport 
collection schemes to keep the pipelines of fraudulent documents 
flowing.'' Page 186., ibid
  ``For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons. They 
must travel clandestinely to meet, train, plan, case targets, and gain 
access to attack . . . In their travels, terrorists use evasive 
measures, such as altered and counterfeit passports and visas . . .'' 
Page 384. ibid.
  I hope that Senator Reid plans to include the Feinstein/Sessions 
Passport and Visa Fraud Bill in his 9/11 Commission Recommendations 
Implementation Package.

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