*EPF305 05/08/2002
Congressional Report, May 8: Border Security Bill Approved
(Measure goes to Bush for signature) (250)

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 411-0 May 8 for legislation that will close border security gaps revealed in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States.

The measure is intended to strengthen immigration enforcement, keep terrorists out of the United States, and keep better track of foreign students attending U.S. colleges and universities.

The bill, which was passed 97-0 by the U.S. Senate April 18, now goes to the president for his signature.

The border security measure requires:

-- U.S. passports issued after 2003 be tamper resistant and that foreign visitors carry documents that can be read by machine and identify the bearer with biometrics;

-- tighter monitoring of foreign students attending U.S. colleges and universities through a new U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) tracking system that records acceptance of aliens by U.S. educational institutions and requires the schools to notify the INS when foreign students fail to attend classes;

-- creation of a computer database for screening visa applications at all U.S. embassies and posts worldwide;

-- the INS to hire 200 new immigration investigators and another 200 inspectors, and boost salaries for U.S. Border Patrol agents; and

-- the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to share more information with the State Department, which issues visas abroad.

The estimated cost of the border security improvements is $1,200 million in its first year, and $3,200 million over three years after that.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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