U.S. Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-TX) and U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) on June 20 introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to thwart terrorist threats.
“Terror threats are constantly evolving and our adversaries are becoming more agile and elusive,” said Rep. McCaul. “To combat this threat, we must leverage our international partnerships and use the most advanced technology to our advantage.”
Rep. McCaul sponsored the Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP) Authorization Act of 2019, H.R. 3377, with cosponsors including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), while Sen. McSally sponsored the same-named S. 1933 companion bill to establish the BITMAP program within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“It is critical that DHS and its partners have every tool necessary to protect American citizens and I am glad to introduce this legislation with Senator McSally, a former colleague of mine on the House Homeland Security Committee,” Rep. McCaul said.
If enacted, the program established by the proposal would “address and reduce national security, border security and terrorist threats before such threats reach the international border of the United States,” according to the text of the bill.
The new program would be modeled on the BITMAP program established in 2011 that is led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations to allow partner-country law enforcement officers to share biometric and biographic data on certain individuals to identify who might be utilizing illegal pathways to enter the United States, according to information provided by Rep. McCaul’s office.
“The ICE BITMAP program is a proven data sharing mechanism to provide intelligence across our borders and is an example of true bilateral cooperation to identify known or suspected terrorists and criminals on their journey to the U.S.,” Sen. McSally said.
Rep. McCaul added that the BITMAP program in the last few years “has identified several hundred known or suspected terrorists in addition to criminals, drug smugglers, human traffickers, murderers, child predators, and dangerous gangs like MS-13.”
“Criminals attempt to violate our nation’s borders every day and enter our country undetected. We must provide every tool necessary to detect bad actors before they reach our borders to protect our communities,” Sen. McSally said.