Combating Terrorism Through Immigration Policies

Homeland security presidential directive-2



President Bush has asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to create a
Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force, with the details spelled out in
Homeland Security Presidential Directive-2, the White House announced
October 30.


The directive, titled "Combating Terrorism Through Immigration
Policies," also covers enhanced Immigration and Naturalization Service
and Customs enforcement capability, abuse of international student
status, North American complementary immigration policies, use of
advanced technologies for data sharing and enforcement efforts, and
budgetary support.


"It is the policy of the United States to work aggressively to prevent
aliens who engage in or support terrorist activity from entering the
United States and to detain, prosecute or deport any such aliens who
are within the United States," the directive says.


Following is the text of the directive:


THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

October 30, 2001

HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE-2

October 29, 2001

SUBJECT: Combating Terrorism Through Immigration Policies

A. National Policy

The United States has a long and valued tradition of welcoming
immigrants and visitors. But the attacks of September 11, 2001, showed
that some come to the United States to commit terrorist acts, to raise
funds for illegal terrorist activities, or to provide other support
for terrorist operations, here and abroad. It is the policy of the
United States to work aggressively to prevent aliens who engage in or
support terrorist activity from entering the United States and to
detain, prosecute, or deport any such aliens who are within the United
States.

1. Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force

By November 1, 2001, the Attorney General shall create the Foreign
Terrorist Tracking Task Force (Task Force), with assistance from the
Secretary of State, the Director of Central Intelligence and other
officers of the government, as appropriate. The Task Force shall
ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Federal agencies
coordinate programs to accomplish the following: 1) deny entry into
the United States of aliens associated with, suspected of being
engaged in, or supporting terrorist activity; and 2) locate, detain,
prosecute, or deport any such aliens already present in the United
States.

The Attorney General shall appoint a senior official as the full-time
Director of the Task Force. The Director shall report to the Deputy
Attorney General, serve as a Senior Advisor to the Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security, and maintain direct liaison with the
Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on
issues related to immigration and the foreign terrorist presence in
the United States. The Director shall also consult with the Assistant
Secretary of State for Consular Affairs on issues related to visa
matters.

The Task Force shall be staffed by expert personnel from the
Department of State, the INS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Secret Service, the Customs Service, the Intelligence Community,
military support components, and other Federal agencies as appropriate
to accomplish the Task Force's mission.

The Attorney General and the Director of Central Intelligence shall
ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that the Task Force
has access to all available information necessary to perform its
mission, and they shall request information from State and local
governments, where appropriate.


With the concurrence of the Attorney General and the Director of
Central Intelligence, foreign liaison officers from cooperating
countries shall be invited to serve as liaisons to the Task Force,
where appropriate, to expedite investigation and data sharing.


Other Federal entities, such as the Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking
in Persons Coordination Center and the Foreign Leads Development
Activity, shall provide the Task Force with any relevant information
they possess concerning aliens suspected of engaging in or supporting
terrorist activity.

2. Enhanced INS and Customs Enforcement Capability

The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, assisted by
the Director of Central Intelligence, shall immediately develop and
implement multi-year plans to enhance the investigative and
intelligence analysis capabilities of the INS and the Customs Service.
The goal of this enhancement is to increase significantly efforts to
identify, locate, detain, prosecute or deport aliens associated with,
suspected of being engaged in, or supporting terrorist activity within
the United States.

The new multi-year plans should significantly increase the number of
Customs and INS special agents assigned to Joint Terrorism Task
Forces, as deemed appropriate by the Attorney General and the
Secretary of the Treasury. These officers shall constitute new
positions over and above the existing on-duty special agent forces of
the two agencies.

3. Abuse of International Student Status

The United States benefits greatly from international students who
study in our country. The United States Government shall continue to
foster and support international students.

The Government shall implement measures to end the abuse of student
visas and prohibit certain international students from receiving
education and training in sensitive areas, including areas of study
with direct application to the development and use of weapons of mass
destruction. The Government shall also prohibit the education and
training of foreign nationals who would use such training to harm the
United States or its Allies.

The Secretary of State and the Attorney General, working in
conjunction with the Secretary of Education, the Director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Energy, and any other departments or entities they deem
necessary, shall develop a program to accomplish this goal. The
program shall identify sensitive courses of study, and shall include
measures whereby the Department of State, the Department of Justice,
and United States academic institutions, working together, can
identify problematic applicants for student visas and deny their
applications. The program shall provide for tracking the status of a
foreign student who receives a visa (to include the proposed major
course of study, the status of the individual as a full-time student,
the classes in which the student enrolls, and the source of the funds
supporting the student's education).

The program shall develop guidelines that may include control
mechanisms, such as limited duration student immigration status, and
may implement strict criteria for renewing such student immigration
status. The program shall include guidelines for exempting students
from countries or groups of countries from this set of requirements.

In developing this new program of control, the Secretary of State, the
Attorney General, and the Secretary of Education shall consult with
the academic community and other interested parties. This new program
shall be presented through the Homeland Security Council to the
President within 60 days.

The INS, in consultation with the Department of Education, shall
conduct periodic reviews of all institutions certified to receive
nonimmigrant students and exchange visitor program students. These
reviews shall include checks for compliance with record keeping and
reporting requirements. Failure of institutions to comply may result
in the termination of the institution's approval to receive such
students.

4. North American Complementary Immigration Policies

The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the
Treasury and the Attorney General, shall promptly initiate
negotiations with Canada and Mexico to assure maximum possible
compatibility of immigration, customs, and visa policies. The goal of
the negotiations shall be to provide all involved countries the
highest possible level of assurance that only individuals seeking
entry for legitimate purposes enter any of the countries, while at the
same time minimizing border restrictions that hinder legitimate
trans-border commerce.

As part of this effort, the Secretaries of State and the Treasury and
the Attorney General shall seek to substantially increase sharing of
immigration and customs information. They shall also seek to establish
a shared immigration and customs control database with both countries.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the
Attorney General shall explore existing mechanisms to accomplish this
goal and, to the maximum extent possible, develop new methods to
achieve optimal effectiveness and relative transparency. To the extent
statutory provisions prevent such information sharing, the Attorney
General and the Secretaries of State and the Treasury shall submit to
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget proposed remedial
legislation.

5. Use of Advanced Technologies for Data Sharing and Enforcement
Efforts

The Director of the OSTP, in conjunction with the Attorney General and
the Director of Central Intelligence, shall make recommendations about
the use of advanced technology to help enforce United States
immigration laws, to implement United States immigration programs, to
facilitate the rapid identification of aliens who are suspected of
engaging in or supporting terrorist activity, to deny them access to
the United States, and to recommend ways in which existing government
databases can be best utilized to maximize the ability of the
government to detect, identify, locate, and apprehend potential
terrorists in the United States. Databases from all appropriate
Federal agencies, state and local governments, and commercial
databases should be included in this review. The utility of advanced
data mining software should also be addressed. To the extent that
there may be legal barriers to such data sharing, the Director of the
OSTP shall submit to the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget proposed legislative remedies. The study also should make
recommendations, propose timelines, and project budgetary
requirements.

The Director of the OSTP shall make these recommendations to the
President through the Homeland Security Council within 60 days.

6. Budgetary Support

The Office of Management and Budget shall work closely with the
Attorney General, the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury, the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, and all other
appropriate agencies to review the budgetary support and identify
changes in legislation necessary for the implementation of this
directive and recommend appropriate support for a multi-year program
to provide the United States a robust capability to prevent aliens who
engage in or support terrorist activity from entering or remaining in
the United States or the smuggling of implements of terrorism into the
United States. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget
shall make an interim report through the Homeland Security Council to
the President on the recommended program within 30 days, and shall
make a final report through the Homeland Security Council to the
President on the recommended program within 60 days.


GEORGE W. BUSH