Terrorist travel program
Requirement to establish
Head of the program
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall designate an official of the Department of Homeland Security to be responsible for carrying out the program. Such official shall be—
the Assistant Secretary for Policy of the Department of Homeland Security; or
an official appointed by the Secretary who reports directly to the Secretary.
Duties
The official designated under subsection (b) shall assist the Secretary of Homeland Security in improving the Department’s ability to prevent terrorists from entering the United States or remaining in the United States undetected by—
developing relevant strategies and policies;
reviewing the effectiveness of existing programs and recommending improvements, if necessary;
making recommendations on budget requests and on the allocation of funding and personnel;
ensuring effective coordination, with respect to policies, programs, planning, operations, and dissemination of intelligence and information related to terrorist travel—
among appropriate subdivisions of the Department of Homeland Security, as determined by the Secretary and including—
United States Customs and Border Protection;
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services;
the Transportation Security Administration; and
the United States Coast Guard; and
between the Department of Homeland Security and other appropriate Federal agencies; and
serving as the Secretary’s primary point of contact with the National Counterterrorism Center for implementing initiatives related to terrorist travel and ensuring that the recommendations of the Center related to terrorist travel are carried out by the Department.
Report
Source
(Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7215,Notes
References in Text
Codification
Amendments
National Strategy To Combat Terrorist Travel
Sense of Congress.—
It is the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to—
continue to regularly assess the evolving terrorist threat to the United States;
catalog existing Federal Government efforts to obstruct terrorist and foreign fighter travel into, out of, and within the United States, and overseas;
identify such efforts that may benefit from reform or consolidation, or require elimination;
identify potential security vulnerabilities in United States defenses against terrorist travel; and
prioritize resources to address any such security vulnerabilities in a risk-based manner.
National Strategy and Updates.—
In general.—
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Updated strategies.—
Not later than 180 days after the date on which a new President is inaugurated, the President shall submit to the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the appropriate congressional committees an updated version of the strategy described in paragraph (1).
Contents.—
The strategy and updates required under this subsection shall—
include an accounting and description of all Federal Government programs, projects, and activities designed to constrain domestic and international travel by terrorists and foreign fighters;
identify specific security vulnerabilities within the United States and outside of the United States that may be exploited by terrorists and foreign fighters;
delineate goals for—
closing the security vulnerabilities identified under subparagraph (B); and
enhancing the ability of the Federal Government to constrain domestic and international travel by terrorists and foreign fighters; and
describe the actions that will be taken to achieve the goals delineated under subparagraph (C) and the means needed to carry out such actions, including—
steps to reform, improve, and streamline existing Federal Government efforts to align with the current threat environment;
new programs, projects, or activities that are requested, under development, or undergoing implementation;
new authorities or changes in existing authorities needed from Congress;
specific budget adjustments being requested to enhance United States security in a risk-based manner; and
the Federal departments and agencies responsible for the specific actions described in this subparagraph.
Sunset.—
The requirement to submit updated national strategies under this subsection shall terminate on the date that is seven years after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Development of Implementation Plans.—
For each national strategy required under subsection (b), the President shall direct the heads of relevant Federal agencies to develop implementation plans for each such agency.
Implementation Plans.—
In general.—
The President shall submit to the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan developed under subsection (c) with each national strategy required under subsection (b). Consistent with the protection of classified information, each such implementation plan shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
Annual updates.—
The President shall submit to the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the appropriate congressional committees an annual updated implementation plan during the ten-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [
Definition.—
In this section, the term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means—
in the House of Representatives—
the Committee on Homeland Security;
the Committee on Armed Services;
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence;
the Committee on the Judiciary;
the Committee on Foreign Affairs;
the Committee on Appropriations; and
in the Senate—
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs;
the Committee on Armed Services;
the Select Committee on Intelligence;
the Committee on the Judiciary;
the Committee on Foreign Relations; and
the Committee on Appropriations.
Special Rule for Certain Receipt.—
The definition under subsection (e) shall be treated as including the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate for purposes of receipt of those portions of—
the national strategy (including updates thereto), and
the implementation plan (including updates thereto),
required under this section that relate to maritime travel into and out of the United States.”