Alien Smuggling Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1999

Alien Smuggling Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1999 - Directs the Attorney General to make specified increases in the number of full-time, active duty Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel assigned to combat alien smuggling.

Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to: (1) provide in its sentencing guidelines for increased criminal sentences and fines for alien smuggling and related activities; and (2) amend its sentencing guidelines to provide that plea bargaining and other prosecutorial policy differences among districts shall not be a ground for sentence imposition outside the applicable guidelines.

Authorizes additional appropriations for such alien smuggling enforcement activities.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1644 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1644

  To provide additional measures for the prevention and punishment of 
                alien smuggling, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 27, 1999

  Mr. Abraham (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Kyl) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide additional measures for the prevention and punishment of 
                alien smuggling, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Alien Smuggling Prevention and 
Enforcement Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. INCREASED PERSONNEL FOR INVESTIGATING AND COMBATING ALIEN 
              SMUGGLING.

    The Attorney General in each of the fiscal years 2000, 2001, 2002, 
2003, and 2004 shall increase the number of positions for full-time, 
active duty investigators or other enforcement personnel within the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service who are assigned to combating 
alien smuggling by not less than 50 positions above the number of such 
positions for which funds were allotted for the preceding fiscal year.

SEC. 3. INCREASING CRIMINAL SENTENCES AND FINES FOR ALIEN SMUGGLING.

    Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United 
States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall promulgate 
sentencing guidelines or amend existing sentencing guidelines for 
smuggling, transporting, harboring, or inducing aliens under sections 
274(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1324(a)(1)(A)) so as to--
            (1) double the minimum term of imprisonment under that 
        section for offenses other than those currently covered by 
        guideline 2L1.1(b)(1) involving the smuggling, transporting, 
        harboring, or inducing of--
                    (A) 1 to 5 aliens from 10 months to 20 months;
                    (B) 6 to 24 aliens from 18 months to 36 months;
                    (C) 25 to 100 aliens from 27 months to 54 months; 
                and
                    (D) 101 aliens or more from 37 months to 74 months;
            (2) increase the minimum level of fines for each of the 
        offenses described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
        paragraph (1) to the greater of the current minimum level or 
        twice the amount the defendant received or expected to receive 
        as compensation for the illegal activity; and
            (3) increase by at least 2 offense levels above the 
        applicable enhancement in effect on the date of enactment of 
        this Act the sentencing enhancements for intentionally or 
        recklessly creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury 
        or causing bodily injury, serious injury, permanent or life 
        threatening injury, or death.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO SENTENCING GUIDELINES REGARDING THE EFFECT OF 
              PROSECUTORIAL POLICIES.

    In the exercise of its authority under section 994 of title 28, 
United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall amend 
the Federal sentencing guidelines to include the following:
``Sec. 5H1.14. Plea bargaining and other prosecutorial policies.
    ``Plea bargaining and other prosecutorial policies, and differences 
in those policies among different districts, are not a ground for 
imposing a sentence outside the applicable guidelines range.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--In addition to funds otherwise available for such 
purpose, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out section 2 and to cover the operating expenses of 
the Service and the Department in conducting undercover investigations 
of alien smuggling activities and in prosecuting violations of section 
274(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (relating to alien 
smuggling), resulting from the increase in personnel under section 2.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended.

SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.

    Beginning one year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Judiciary 
Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on 
the strategy utilized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 
dealing with alien smuggling.

SEC. 7. ALIEN SMUGGLING DEFINED.

    In sections 2, 5, and 6, the term ``alien smuggling'' means any act 
prohibited by paragraph (1) or (2) of section 274(a) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)).
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