Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 - Title I: Securing United States Borders - (Sec. 101) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to take all appropriate actions to maintain operational control over the U.S. international land and maritime borders, including: (1) systematic surveillance using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage, and cameras; (2) physical infrastructure enhancements to prevent unlawful U.S. entry and facilitate United States Customs and Border Protection border access; (3) hiring and training additional Border Patrol agents; and (4) increasing deployment of United States Customs and Border Protection personnel to border areas with high levels of unlawful entry.
Requires the Secretary to annually report to Congress respecting border control progress.
(Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees respecting: (1) a comprehensive border surveillance plan; and (2) a National Strategy for Border Security to achieve operational control over all U.S. borders and ports of entry.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees respecting implementation of the cross-border security agreements signed by the United States with Mexico and Canada.
(Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to: (1) enhance connectivity between the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) fingerprint databases; and (2) collect all fingerprints from each alien required to provide fingerprints during the alien's initial enrollment in the integrated entry and exit data system.
(Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress respecting the "One Face at the Border" inspection initiative at U.S. ports of entry.
(Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to implement a plan to ensure clear and secure two-way communication capabilities: (1) among all Border Patrol agents conducting operations between ports of entry; (2) between Border Patrol agents and their respective Border Patrol stations; (3) between Border Patrol agents and residents in remote areas along the international land border who do not have mobile communications; and (4) between all appropriate Department of Homeland Security (DHS) border security agencies and state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
The summary continues for 157 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on December 16, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 27, 2006: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
F. SENSENBRENNER (R-WI) introduced it on December 6, 2005, and 35 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 34 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 6, 2005, 7583 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7531 days ago, on January 27, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers