Vice Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Candice Miller (R-Mich.) and House Committee on Homeland Security Member Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) introduced the Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013, H.R. 3141, on Friday.
The act calls for the creation and implementation of a biometric exit system for the U.S., who was a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission to strengthen border security.
“Twelve years ago this month, 19 terrorists successfully penetrated our border and visa security defenses, hijacked four planes and conducted a heinous attack that took the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans,” Miller said. “It became abundantly clear that our visa security system was failing us. While a biometric entry system was established after Sept. 11 to capture biometric information on foreign visitors, no such biometric exit system has been developed to definitively identify if, or when, a foreign visitor exits the country.
The Biometric Exit Improvement Act would require the secretary of Homeland Security to submit a plan to establish a biometric exit data system at all ports of entry within 180 days and establish a biometric exit data system not later than two ears after enactment at the 10 U.S. airports and 10 U.S. seaport with the highest volume of international travelers.
“The Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013 would allow the Department of Homeland Security to understand in real-time when a foreign national has left the country, and allow the Department to focus its limited resources on visa overstays, and potential national security risks, who remain in the United States,” Miller said. “This legislation puts the country on the path to finally fulfilling a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, and in the process, strengthening border security.”
The secretary would also be required to establish a six month test pilot program for non-pedestrian outbound traffic at no fewer than three land ports of entry – two at the southwest border and one on the northern border – with significant cross-border traffic.