19 April 2002

Senate Passes Border Security Bill;
House Expected to Follow Swiftly

Bush lauds passage, still seeks immigrant amnesty provision

By Ralph Dannheisser
Washington File Congressional Correspondent

Washington -- The Senate has unanimously passed a bill to tighten security at U.S. borders, and the House of Representatives is expected to add its approval April 23 and send the measure to President Bush for his promised signature.

Senate action came late April 18, by a 97-0 vote.

The legislation includes provisions for closer monitoring of immigrants with student visas -- like some of the participants in last year's terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.

It also establishes the use of tamper-resistant travel documents, complete with biometric identification of the holder -- such as fingerprints or retinal scans -- and it calls for the addition of 1,000 new border agents over the next five years.

Not included in the bill, as approved, is an amnesty for some aliens who have overstayed their entry visas -- a provision that the president has sought. Bush took note of this omission in a brief statement he issued after the Senate acted.

On the one hand, he commended the Senate "for passing legislation that strengthens border security and gives our law enforcement officials additional tools to secure our homeland." He added, "I look forward to Congress sending me this important legislation as soon as possible so that I can sign it into law."

But at the same time, Bush said, "I also continue to urge Congress to act to strengthen families and make America more welcoming.

"Congress should pass a temporary extension (of a recently expired law) ... so that immigrants eligible to become legal residents will not be forced to leave the country and their families to have their immigration status resolved," he said.

House approval of the border security bill is seen as virtually certain: the body has approved the basic measure twice before, and now must simply accept some minor amendments contained in the latest Senate version.

Senator Sam Brownback (Republican, Kansas), one of the measure's co-sponsors, said it "protects our borders without compromising our values or our economy." He termed it "a measured, intelligent response to an evil that we will defeat."

Similarly, Senator Edward Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts) said the proposed law "will strengthen the security of our borders, will improve our ability to screen visitors, monitor foreign nationals and enhance our capacity to deter potential terrorists."

Key sponsors, along with Brownback and Kennedy, were Senators Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California), and Jon Kyl (Republican, Arizona).

The bill aims at increasing information sharing among agencies involved in the security effort -- the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Drug Enforcement Administration, State Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service.

And it would require transportation lines to file passenger manifests with U.S. authorities before ships and planes leave their home countries, giving the authorities more time to spot potential terrorists prior to their arrival in the United States.

Final Senate passage had been held up for months, as Senator Robert Byrd (Democrat, West Virginia) sought to include a number of controversial amendments and -- in the end successfully -- to keep out the immigration reform provisions that Bush favors but Byrd describes as amnesty for lawbreakers.

As passed earlier by the House, those provisions would have permitted some aliens who overstayed their visas -- or even entered the country illegally -- to stay here while seeking permanent resident status, provided that they were sponsored by a close relative or employer and paid a $1,000 fine.