Sec. 7209. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
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## SEC. 7209 TRAVEL DOCUMENTS **[**[8 U.S.C. 1185 note](/us/usc/t8/s1185)**]** ###
(a)Findings Consistent with the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Congress makes the following findings: ####
(1)Existing procedures allow many individuals to enter the United States by showing minimal identification or without showing any identification. ####
(2)The planning for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, demonstrates that terrorists study and exploit United States vulnerabilities. ####
(3)Additional safeguards are needed to ensure that terrorists cannot enter the United States. ###
(b)Passports ####
(1)Development of plan and implementation #####
(A)The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall develop and implement a plan as expeditiously as possible to require a passport or other document, or combination of documents, deemed by the Secretary of Homeland Security to be sufficient to denote identity and citizenship, for all travel into the United States by United States citizens and by categories of individuals for whom documentation requirements have previously been waived under section 212(d)(4)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(4)(B)). Such plan may not be implemented earlier than the date that is the later of 3 months after the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security make the certification required in subparagraph
(B)or June 1, 2009.3 The plan shall seek to expedite the travel of frequent travelers, including those who reside in border communities, and in doing so, shall make readily available a registered traveler program (as described in section 7208(k)). 3The amendment made by section 545 of Public Law 110–161 to section 7209(b)(1)(A) was executed to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Such amendment to strike “This plan shall be implemented not later than 3 months after the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security make the certifications required in subsection (B), or June 1, 2009, whichever is earlier.” and inserts a new sentence (shown above) probably should have been to strike “three months” instead of “3 months”. #####
(B)The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State shall jointly certify to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives that the following criteria have been met prior to implementation of section 7209(b)(1)(A)— ######
(i)the National Institute of Standards and Technology certifies that the Departments of Homeland Security and State have selected a card architecture that meets or exceeds International Organization for Standardization
(ISO)security standards and meets or exceeds best available practices for protection of personal identification documents: *Provided,* That the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall also assist the Departments of Homeland Security and State to incorporate into the architecture of the card the best available practices to prevent the unauthorized use of information on the card: *Provided further,* That to facilitate efficient cross-border travel, the Departments of Homeland Security and State shall, to the maximum extent possible, develop an architecture that is compatible with information technology systems and infrastructure used by United States Customs and Border Protection; ######
(ii)the technology to be used by the United States for the passport card, and any subsequent change to that technology, has been shared with the governments of Canada and Mexico; ######
(iii)an agreement has been reached with the United States Postal Service on the fee to be charged individuals for the passport card, and a detailed justification has been submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives; ######
(iv)an alternative procedure has been developed for groups of children traveling across an international border under adult supervision with parental consent; ######
(v)the necessary technological infrastructure to process the passport cards has been installed, and all employees at ports of entry have been properly trained in the use of the new technology; ######
(vi)the passport card has been made available for the purpose of international travel by United States citizens through land and sea ports of entry between the United States and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda; ######
(vii)a single implementation date for sea and land borders has been established; and ######
(viii)the signing of a memorandum of agreement to initiate a pilot program with not less than one State to determine if an enhanced driver's license, which is machine-readable and tamper proof, not valid for certification of citizenship for any purpose other than admission into the United States from Canada or Mexico, and issued by such State to an individual, may permit the individual to use the driver's license to meet the documentation requirements under subparagraph
(A)for entry into the United States from Canada or Mexico at land and sea ports of entry. #####
(C)Report Not later than 180 days after the initiation of the pilot program described in subparagraph (B)(viii), the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report which includes— ######
(i)an analysis of the impact of the pilot program on national security; ######
(ii)recommendations on how to expand the pilot program to other States; ######
(iii)any appropriate statutory changes to facilitate the expansion of the pilot program to additional States and to citizens of Canada; ######
(iv)a plan to screen individuals participating in the pilot program against United States terrorist watch lists; and ######
(v)a recommendation for the type of machine-readable technology that should be used in enhanced driver's licenses, based on individual privacy considerations and the costs and feasibility of incorporating any new technology into existing driver's licenses. ####
(2)Requirement to produce documentation The plan developed under paragraph
(1)shall require all United States citizens, and categories of individuals for whom documentation requirements have previously been waived under section 212(d)(4)(B) of such Act, to carry and produce the documentation described in paragraph
(1)when traveling from foreign countries into the United States. ###
(c)Technical and Conforming Amendments After the complete implementation of the plan described in subsection (b)— ####
(1)neither the Secretary of State nor the Secretary of Homeland Security may exercise discretion under section 212(d)(4)(B) of such Act to waive documentary requirements for travel into the United States; and ####
(2)the President may not exercise discretion under section 215(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1185(b)) to waive documentary requirements for United States citizens departing from or entering, or attempting to depart from or enter, the United States except— #####
(A)where the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the alternative documentation that is the basis for the waiver of the documentary requirement is sufficient to denote identity and citizenship; #####
(B)in the case of an unforeseen emergency in individual cases; or #####
(C)in the case of humanitarian or national interest reasons in individual cases. ###
(d)Transit Without Visa Program The Secretary of State shall not use any authorities granted under section 212(d)(4)(C) of such Act until the Secretary, in conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security, completely implements a security plan to fully ensure secure transit passage areas to prevent aliens proceeding in immediate and continuous transit through the United States from illegally entering the United States.
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- Pub. L. 110-161
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