Operationally, this means controlling the official ports of entry (POE) through which legitimate travelers and commerce enter the country, and patrolling the nation's land and maritime borders to safeguard against and interdict illegal entries. Within DHS, CBP is the agency charged with securing the nation's international border at and between POE. At POE, CBP Officers screen the goods and travelers that are attempting to enter the country to ensure that unwanted or dangerous people and things to do not enter the country. Between POE, Border Patrol Agents attempt to detect and prevent the illegal entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, unauthorized aliens, and contraband. Although the movement of goods into the country is clearly an important aspect of the overall security of the U.S. borders, this report will focus on the movement of people into the country because that has been the main issue addressed by most of the border security legislation currently being considered in the 109 th Congress. This report is organized to reflect the main border security issues relating to the movement of people into the country, as indicated by the legislation currently pending in the 109 th Congress. Border Security Between Ports of Entry7

The United States Border Patrol (USBP) within CBP is charged with securing the U.S. international land border between POE, detecting and preventing the entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and illegal aliens into the country, and interdicting drug smugglers and other criminals along the border. H.R. 5631 ), as amended by S.Amdt. H.R. Military or Civilian Assistance for the Border Patrol

A variety of bills have been introduced that would supplement DHS resources by involving the military or civilians in patrolling the U.S. border. H.R. H.R. H.R. 4099 , H.R. H.R. H.R. 4283 , H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. S. 1033 , S. 2391 , and H.R. 4284 , H.R. 5067 , H.R. 5813 , H.R. Infrastructure

H.R. 5456 , H.R. H.R. H.R. 3137 , H.R. 3333 , H.R. 3938 , H.R. 4313 , H.R. 4437 , S. 1362 , S. 1438 , S. 2049 , S. 2061 , S. 2368 , S. 2377 , S. 2394 , S. 2454 , S.Amdt. H.R. Expansion of the Program

H.R. 4240 , H.R. 4238 , H.R. 3192 , S. 2611 , S. 2612 , S. 3564 , H.R. 1320 , H.R. Using Homeland Security Grants for Border Security Activities

H.R. 4312 , H.R. H.R. S. 2611 , S. 2612 and S. 3564 would require CBP to collect statistics on the number of deaths occurring at the southwest border, including the causes of the deaths, and to submit a report to Congress on this issue that includes recommendations for reducing the incidence of death at the border. The current biometric entry/exit system is the U.S. H.R. POE Resources

			Manpower

A number of bills direct the Secretary to hire no less than 250 additional CBP officers at POE in each year from FY2006 to FY2010, including S. 1916 ; S. 1438 ; H.R. 688 ; H.R. 4437 ; H.R. H.R. Technology

H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. 4285 , H.R. 4958 , H.R.
Border security is considered a central aspect of the United States' overall homeland security. Securing the border involves controlling the official ports of entry (POE) through which legitimate travelers and commerce enter the country, as well as monitoring and patrolling the nation's land and maritime borders to detect and interdict the entry of illegal persons and contraband. The Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the lead federal agency charged with securing our nation's borders at and between POE.
In the 109th Congress, there are a large number of bills currently pending that would address some of the immigration issues associated with border security by focusing on the movement of people into the country, both at POE and illegally across the U.S. international land border. This report will focus on the main legislative issues facing the 109th Congress relating to the movement of people across the border. It will not address interior enforcement issues or cargo security issues.
At POE, CBP officers screen travelers attempting to enter the country by air, land, or sea to ensure that unwanted or dangerous people do not enter the country. The main issues facing Congress at POE include expanding the biometric entry exit system currently being used to screen entrants; and whether the resources currently fielded by the agency (including personnel, technology, and infrastructure) are adequate to the task at hand.
Between POE, United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents attempt to detect and prevent the illegal entry of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, unauthorized aliens, and contraband. A number of issues between POE that would be addressed by legislation are currently pending in the 109th Congress, including whether DHS has a viable border security strategy; whether the USBP has the adequate resources to achieve operational control of the border; the expansion of fencing along the border with Mexico; allowing the military to patrol or surveil the border; allowing the states or civilians to patrol the border; expanding the expedited removal program or requiring mandatory detention of aliens apprehended between POE; and removing Air and Marine Operations from CBP and making it a separate office within DHS.
The following bills are included in this report: H.R. 98, H.R. 193, H.R. 255, H.R. 418, H.R. 688, H.R. 780, H.R. 1196, H.R. 1320, H.R. 1502, H.R. 1805, H.R. 1815, H.R. 1817, H.R. 1912, H.R. 1986, H.R. 2092, H.R. 2330, H.R. 3137, H.R. 3333, H.R. 3622, H.R. 3693, H.R. 3704, H.R. 3938, H.R. 4009, H.R. 4083, H.R. 4099, H.R. 4238, H.R. 4240, H.R. 4283, H.R. 4284, H.R. 4285, H.R. 4312, H.R. 4313, H.R. 4412, H.R. 4437, H.R. 4830, H.R. 4871, H.R. 4958, H.R. 5017, H.R. 5067, H.R. 5122, H.R. 5456, H.R. 5631, H.R. 5813, H.R. 5814, H.R. 6061, H.R. 6091, S. 12, S. 1033, S. 1362, S. 1374, S. 1438, S. 1823, S. 1875, S. 1916, S. 2049, S. 2061, S. 2117, S. 2368, S. 2377, S. 2391, S. 2394, S. 2454, S.Amdt. 3192, S. 2611, S. 2612, S. 3564, S. 2766, S.Amdt. 4788. This report will be updated periodically as events warrant.