I hope I can count on you to oppose H.R. 3141, the Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013. While the bill tries to set a hard deadline for completion of a biometric exit system at our nation’s borders, it contains a major flaw. It weakens current law by excluding mandatory biometric scans for non-pedestrian traffic at all land borders.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 9/11 Commission recommended that everyone entering and exiting country have their biometric details recorded, and Congress subsequently codified this recommendation in multiple bills. Unfortunately, DHS has yet to implement this law that would help make our nation a more secure place.
H.R. 3141 aims to force DHS to implement a biometric entry/exit system. However, the proposed legislation exempts those exiting the country in motor vehicles at all land ports from biometric checks, thereby weakening existing law. Roughly 25% of all border crossers would be excluded from biometric scans. If this law passes, we would not know if someone has left the country or not.
Furthermore, pro-amnesty Senators have been waiting for the House to pass an immigration bill so they can use the resulting conference committee to force their mass amnesty legislation on the American people. Even though H.R. 3141 has nothing to do with amnesty, the pro-amnesty Senators have few scruples and would use this bill as a vehicle to get their amnesty to President Obama’s desk.
I urge you to oppose this legislation and work towards a bill that would force DHS to implement a watertight biometric entry/exit system.
Phone me if you would like to talk about this
Greg Raven
