(a) FINDINGS.--Consistent with the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Travel documents are as important to terrorists as weapons since terrorists must travel clandestinely to meet, train, plan, case targets, and gain access to attack sites.
(2) International travel is dangerous for terrorists because they must surface to pass through regulated channels, present themselves to border security officials, or attempt to circumvent inspection points.
(3) Terrorists use evasive, but detectable, methods to travel, such as altered and counterfeit passports and visas, specific travel methods and routes, liaisons with corrupt government officials, human smuggling networks, supportive travel agencies, and immigration and identity fraud.
(4) Before September 11, 2001, no Federal agency systematically analyzed terrorist travel strategies. If an agency had done so, the agency could have discovered the ways in which the terrorist predecessors to al Qaeda had been systematically, but detectably, exploiting weaknesses in our border security since the early 1990s.
(5) Many of the hijackers were potentially vulnerable to interception by border authorities. Analyzing their characteristic travel documents and travel patterns could have allowed authorities to intercept some of the hijackers and a more effective use of information available in government databases could have identified some of the hijackers.
(6) The routine operations of our immigration laws and the aspects of those laws not specifically aimed at protecting against terrorism inevitably shaped al Qaeda's planning and opportunities.
(7) New insights into terrorist travel gained since September 11, 2001, have not been adequately integrated into the front lines of border security. (8) The small classified terrorist travel intelligence collection and analysis program currently in place has produced useful results and should be expanded.
(b) STRATEGY.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center shall submit to Congress unclassified and classified versions of a strategy for combining terrorist travel intelligence, operations, and law enforcement into a cohesive effort to intercept terrorists, find terrorist travel facilitators, and constrain terrorist mobility domestically and internationally. The report to Congress should include a description of the actions taken to implement the strategy and an assessment regarding vulnerabilities within the United States and foreign travel systems that may be exploited by international terrorists, human smugglers and traffickers, and their facilitators.
(2) COORDINATION.--The strategy shall be developed in coordination with all relevant Federal agencies.
(3) CONTENTS.--The strategy may address--
(A) a program for collecting, analyzing, disseminating, and utilizing information and intelligence regarding terrorist travel tactics and methods, and outline which Federal intelligence, diplomatic, and law enforcement agencies will be held accountable for implementing each element of the strategy;
(B) the intelligence and law enforcement collection, analysis, operations, and reporting required to identify and disrupt terrorist travel tactics, practices, patterns, and trends, and the terrorist travel facilitators, document forgers, human smugglers, travel agencies, and corrupt border and transportation officials who assist terrorists;
(C) the training and training materials required by consular, border, and immigration officials to effectively detect and disrupt terrorist travel described under subsection (c)(3);
(D) the new technology and procedures required and actions to be taken to integrate existing counterterrorist travel document and mobility intelligence into border security processes, including consular, port of entry, border patrol, maritime, immigration benefits, and related law enforcement activities;
(E) the actions required to integrate current terrorist mobility intelligence into military force protection measures;
(F) the additional assistance to be given to the interagency Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center for purposes of combatting terrorist travel, including further developing and expanding enforcement and operational capabilities that address terrorist travel;
(G) the actions to be taken to aid in the sharing of information between the frontline border agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and classified and unclassified sources of counterterrorist travel intelligence and information elsewhere in the Federal Government, including the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center;
(H) the development and implementation of procedures to enable the National Counterterrorism Center, or its designee, to timely receive terrorist travel intelligence and documentation obtained at consulates and ports of entry, and by law enforcement officers and military personnel;
(I) the use of foreign and technical assistance to advance border security measures and law enforcement operations against terrorist travel facilitators;
(J) the feasibility of developing a program to provide each consular, port of entry, and immigration benefits office with a counterterrorist travel expert trained and authorized to use the relevant authentication technologies and cleared to access all appropriate immigration, law enforcement, and intelligence databases;
(K) the feasibility of digitally transmitting suspect passport information to a central cadre of specialists, either as an interim measure until such time as experts described under subparagraph (J) are available at consular, port of entry, and immigration benefits offices, or otherwise;
(L) the development of a mechanism to ensure the coordination and dissemination of terrorist travel intelligence and operational information among the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, the National Counterterrorism Center, and other appropriate agencies;
(M) granting consular officers and immigration adjudicators, as appropriate, the security clearances necessary to access law enforcement sensitive and intelligence databases; and
(N) how to integrate travel document screening for terrorism indicators into border screening, and how to integrate the intelligence community into a robust travel document screening process to intercept terrorists.
SEC. 7202. ESTABLISHMENT OF HUMAN SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING CENTER. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.--There is established a Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (referred to in this section as the ''Center'').
(b) OPERATION.--The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General shall operate the Center in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding entitled,''Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC), Charter''.
(c) FUNCTIONS.--In addition to such other responsibilities as the President may assign, the Center shall--
(1) serve as the focal point for interagency efforts to address terrorist travel;
(2) serve as a clearinghouse with respect to all relevant information from all Federal Government agencies in support of the United States strategy to prevent separate, but related, issues of clandestine terrorist travel and facilitation of migrant smuggling and trafficking of persons;
(3) ensure cooperation among all relevant policy, law enforcement, diplomatic, and intelligence agencies of the Federal Government to improve effectiveness and to convert all information available to the Federal Government relating to clandestine terrorist travel and facilitation, migrant smuggling, and trafficking of persons into tactical, operational, and strategic intelligence that can be used to combat such illegal activities; and
(4) prepare and submit to Congress, on an annual basis, a strategic assessment regarding vulnerabilities in the United States and foreign travel system that may be exploited by international terrorists, human smugglers and traffickers, and their facilitators.
(d) REPORT.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to Congress a report regarding the implementation of this section, including a description of the staffing and resource needs of the Center.
(e) RELATIONSHIP TO THE NCTC.--As part of its mission to combat terrorist travel, the Center shall work to support the efforts of the National Counterterrorism Center.
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