Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress

618 words·~3 min read·/bill/118/s/71/is/section-2

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Congress makes the following findings: On December 27, 1988, Presidential Proclamation 5928 extended the territorial sea of the United States from 3 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States, determined in accordance with international law. On August 2, 1999, Presidential Proclamation 7219 extended the contiguous zone of the United States from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the United States, determined in accordance with international law, but in no case within the territorial sea of another country.

Customary international law, in its current form, as provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and consistent with Presidential Proclamations 5928 and 7219, reflects that— every coastal State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from its baselines; a coastal State’s contiguous zone may not extend beyond 24 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured; a coastal State has exclusive jurisdiction over its flagged vessels within its territorial seas and upon the high seas; and in the contiguous zone of a coastal State, the State may— exercise the control necessary to prevent the infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or the territorial sea; and punish the infringement of those laws and regulations committed within its territory or the territorial sea.

Customary international law, in its current form, as provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, recognizes that outside the territorial waters of a coastal State, the vessels and aircraft of all countries enjoy the high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight. Pursuant to those freedoms and the requirements of international law— before boarding a vessel outside of the territorial waters of a coastal State, but within the contiguous zone of that State, authorities of the State are generally required to have reasonable grounds to believe that the vessel is destined for the State or has violated or is attempting to violate the customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws and regulations of that State; and the hot pursuit of a foreign vessel— may be undertaken when competent authorities of the State have good reason to believe that the vessel or one of its boats has violated the laws and regulations of that State; is required to be commenced when the foreign vessels or one of its boats is within the internal waters, the territorial sea, or the contiguous zone of the State, and may be continued outside the territorial sea or the contiguous zone only if the pursuit has not been interrupted; and in a case in which the foreign vessels is within the contiguous zone of the State, may be undertaken only if there has been a violation of the rights for the protection of which the contiguous zone was established.

It is the sense of Congress that— it is necessary to extend the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to conduct law enforcement activities in the customs waters of the United States from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles because as modern technology continues to change and expand rapidly, the performance and speed of maritime vessels, including those used to violate the laws of the United States or evade United States law enforcement agents, improve, and the limit of 12 nautical miles no longer provides law enforcement agents with sufficient time to interdict such vessels; and the extension of the customs waters of the United States to the limits permitted by international law will advance the law enforcement and public health interests of the United States.