II
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3892
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 14, 2006
Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. McCain, and Mrs. Hutchison) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To reduce the number of deaths along the border between the United States and Mexico by improving the placement of rescue beacons, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Border Death Reduction Act of
2006
.
Definition of a rescue beacon
In this Act, the term rescue beacon means a clearly visible device with an internal power source that is placed in an area likely to experience extreme weather, that contains instructions for its use, and by means of lights, radio signals, and other means, allows individuals to alert the United States Customs and Border Protection of their presence.
Collection of statistics
In general
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Customs shall begin collecting data relevant to deaths occurring at the border between the United States and Mexico, divided by sector, and including—
the causes of the deaths;
the total number of deaths;
the location of deaths; and
demographic characteristics, including the sex and approximate age of those deceased.
Development of protocols
The Commissioner of Customs shall develop consistent, formal, written protocols for the collection of data described in subsection (a).
Annual report on border deaths
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Customs shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security a report that contains—
an analysis of trends with respect to the statistics collected under section (3)(a)(1) during the preceding year;
an evaluation, using multivariate statistical approaches, of the Border Safety Initiative, including any rescue beacons deployed, and any successor program designed to reduce deaths along the border described in section 3(a); and
recommendations of particular actions to reduce the deaths described in section 3(a).
Report on beacon placement
Report required
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Customs shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security a report on enhancing the deployment of rescue beacons.
Focus of report
Such report shall contain particular emphasis on enhancing the deployment of rescue beacons in the Tucson Sector.
Contents of report
The report required by subsection (a) shall include—
an assessment of the efficacy of the deployment of rescue beacons in light of the statistics gathered under section 3, including analysis of the locations of deaths recorded and areas frequented by illegal migrants; and
recommendations on where additional rescue beacons should be placed to reduce the number of deaths in the area described by section 3 and section 5(b).
Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated $500,000 to carry out the provisions of this section.
Deployment of enhanced beacon network
Deployment of rescue beacons
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Customs shall deploy additional rescue beacons in all areas recommended in the report required by section 5.
Guidelines for placement of rescue beacons
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Customs shall issue to all sector chiefs formal, written guidelines for the ongoing placement and removal of rescue beacons and the appropriate response to the activation of such beacons.
Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 to carry out the provisions of this section.
Prohibition on abandonment of aliens in a border zone
In general
Any person who commits an act described in section 274(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A)) and abandons an alien with respect to that act in a place not within sight of a paved road or rescue beacon, shall be considered to have placed in jeopardy the life of a person as described in section 274(a)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(B)(iii)).
Construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any person from being held in violation of section 274(a)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324 (B)(iii)).