A new Republican-sponsored border security bill that cleared a House committee but is meeting resistance in the full chamber and from the Obama administration directs the deployment of a biometric exit system at all of the nation’s ports of entry and prescribes specific technologies to be deployed at different sectors of the southern border and coastal zones.
The Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015 (H.R. 399) calls for a biometric exit system to be deployed at each of the 15 largest international airports in the U.S, 15 largest seaports supporting international travel, and 15 highest volume land ports in terms of pedestrian crossings within two years of enactment. Within five years of enactment, the legislation requires the exit system be deployed to all land ports of entry for vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and at all seaports and airports.
To help develop the system for the land port environment, the bill calls for a six month pilot program to test an exist system on outbound vehicle traffic at three or more land ports of entry, including at least two on the southern border and at least one on the northern border. The use of more one biometric modality is also provided as an option.
The quest for a biometric exit system, which is called for in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, has proven elusive over the years with cost and operational challenges the primary reasons it hasn’t happened. The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology branch is currently working with Customs and Border Protection on laboratory testing of biometric exit systems in an airport environment and plans to transition those efforts to an airport.
The House was expected to take up the bill, which was approved by the House Homeland Security Committee earlier this month in a party-line vote, on Wednesday but Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pulled it from consideration citing poor winter weather. However, the bill has opponents within the House Republican Conference who believe that it does nothing to deal with their concerns that the administration is providing amnesty to illegal aliens in the U.S.
A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate, the Secure the Border First Act of 2015 (S. 208), but there doesn’t appear to be any interest to fast track consideration of the legislation. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and one of the authors of the bill, says he will hold hearings on border security.
Following passage by the House panel, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson slammed the bill calling it “unworkable” due to its prescriptive nature.
In addition to the biometric exit provisions, the bill calls for deployments of different surveillance technologies along the southern border with installations varying by sector.
The prescriptive border technologies include tunnel detection systems, aerostats for land and maritime surveillance, mobile and tower-based surveillance systems, man-portable and larger unmanned aircraft systems, coastal radar, maritime signals intelligence, ultra-light aircraft detection, maritime patrol aircraft, improved communications systems, and increase flight, cutter and boat hours. The bill also prescribes additional fencing, road construction and related maintenance, and forward operating bases for the Border Patrol in certain areas.
Arguing that the Obama administration has failed to take appropriate actions to secure the nation’s borders, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and the author of the bill, says “It is time for Congress to lead. And through this legislation, we tell the department and the administration how to get this job done once and for all.”