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Bush Signs Border Security Bill--Pushes for Extension of Section 245(i) May 14, 2002 President Bush has signed the Border Security Bill meant to screen out
terrorists by using high-tech passports and more border enforcers to check
millions of people who enter the United States each year.
The new law also will mean closer monitoring of foreign students in the
US. "America is not a fortress and we never want to be a fortress,"
Bush said at a signing ceremony. "But on the other hand, we can do a better
job of making our borders more secure and make our borders smart." The new law will require that passports issued after 2003 contain
fingerprints or facial recognition technology and be tamperproof. It
will also bar the use of certain visas by people from countries listed as
terrorism sponsors. The State Department's list currently includes Iraq, North
Korea, Iran, Sudan, Cuba, Libya and Syria. The law also strengthens requirements that planes and passenger ships
traveling from other countries provide lists of passengers and crew members to a
US border officer before arriving, and reiterates the need for a database of
suspected terrorists that federal agencies can use to screen visa applicants. Such
a list already exists under the Federal Terrorism Tracking Task Force that Bush
created after September 11. Additionally, the new law creates an elaborate tracking system of foreign
students. It will record the
admission of non-resident students by educational institutions, the issuance of
student visas, and the enrollment of non-Americans in schools. It
also will force schools to advise the INS if foreign students do not report for
class. The Bill also authorizes 400 additional immigration investigators, inspectors
and other staff for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, subject to
Congress financing them. In the signing ceremony, President Bush complained that the bill did not
include a provision he sought — a measure to grant amnesty to illegal
immigrants, so they could apply for residency without leaving the United States.
That provision was an important
component of Bush's outreach to Hispanic voters. "I intend to work with Congress to see if we can't get that done here
pretty quick," Bush said. |
