PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Creates a Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security and the Attorney General must run it under a written agreement called the HSTC Charter. The Center must be the main place where federal agencies share and turn information about terrorist travel, migrant smuggling, and trafficking into useful intelligence. It must act as a clearinghouse for relevant federal information and send an annual strategic assessment to Congress about travel-system weaknesses that terrorists, smugglers, or traffickers might use. The Secretary of Homeland Security must pick a Director and make sure the Center has at least 40 full‑time staff drawn from DHS offices and other agencies (for example, CIA, DOD, Treasury, NCTC, NSA, DOJ, State). Staff must include experienced intelligence analysts, special agents, and people with skills like consular work, counterterrorism, law enforcement, document fraud detection, border inspection, immigration enforcement, and anti‑trafficking. Agencies must offer incentives (pay, bonuses, awards) for two‑year tours and treat Center service favorably for promotions (except for Foreign Service rules). DHS must provide funding and admin support for people, office space, equipment, training, and travel. The President must report to Congress within 180 days after December 17, 2004 on implementation and needs, and a follow‑up report within 180 days after August 3, 2007 about how the Center is operating. The Center must support the NCTC and work with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis to send periodic threat reports to state, local, and tribal law enforcement.

Title 8, §1777

Aliens and Nationality, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment

There is established a Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (referred to in this section as the “Center”).

(b)Operation

The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General shall operate the Center in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding entitled, “Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC), Charter”.

(c)Functions

In addition to such other responsibilities as the President may assign, the Center shall—

(1)serve as the focal point for interagency efforts to integrate and disseminate intelligence and information related to terrorist travel;

(2)serve as a clearinghouse with respect to all relevant information from all Federal Government agencies in support of the United States strategy to prevent separate, but related, issues of clandestine terrorist travel and facilitation of migrant smuggling and trafficking of persons;

(3)ensure cooperation among all relevant policy, law enforcement, diplomatic, and intelligence agencies of the Federal Government to improve effectiveness and to convert all information available to the Federal Government relating to clandestine terrorist travel and facilitation, migrant smuggling, and trafficking of persons into tactical, operational, and strategic intelligence that can be used to combat such illegal activities; and

(4)prepare and submit to Congress, on an annual basis, a strategic assessment regarding vulnerabilities in the United States and foreign travel system that may be exploited by international terrorists, human smugglers and traffickers, and their facilitators.

(d)Director (e) Staffing of the Center

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall nominate an official of the Government of the United States to serve as the Director of the Center, in accordance with the requirements of the memorandum of understanding entitled the “Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC) Charter”.

(f)Administrative support and funding

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide to the Center the administrative support and funding required for its maintenance, including funding for personnel, leasing of office space, supplies, equipment, technology, training, and travel expenses necessary for the Center to carry out its functions.

(g)Report

(1)Initial report

Not later than 180 days after December 17, 2004, the President shall transmit to Congress a report regarding the implementation of this section, including a description of the staffing and resource needs of the Center.

(2)Follow-up report

Not later than 180 days after August 3, 2007, the President shall transmit to Congress a report regarding the operation of the Center and the activities carried out by the Center, including a description of— (A)

(B)the mechanisms used to share information among each such agency or department;

(C)the personnel provided to the Center by each such agency or department;

(D)the type of information and reports being disseminated by the Center;

(E)any efforts by the Center to create a centralized Federal Government database to store information related to unlawful travel of foreign nationals, including a description of any such database and of the manner in which information utilized in such a database would be collected, stored, and shared;

(F)how each agency and department shall utilize its resources to ensure that the Center uses intelligence to focus and drive its efforts;

(G)efforts to consolidate networked systems for the Center;

(H)the mechanisms for the sharing of homeland security information from the Center to the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, including how such sharing shall be consistent with section 485(b) of title 6;

(I)the ability of participating personnel in the Center to freely access necessary databases and share information regarding issues related to human smuggling, trafficking in persons, and terrorist travel;

(J)how the assignment of personnel to the Center is incorporated into the civil service career path of such personnel; and

(K)cooperation and coordination efforts, including any memorandums of understanding, among participating agencies and departments regarding issues related to human smuggling, trafficking in persons, and terrorist travel.

(h)Relationship to the NCTC

As part of its mission to combat terrorist travel, the Center shall work to support the efforts of the National Counterterrorism Center.

(i)Coordination with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis

The Office of Intelligence and Analysis, in coordination with the Center, shall submit to relevant State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies periodic reports regarding terrorist threats related to human smuggling, human trafficking, and terrorist travel.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Foreign Service Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (e)(3)(B), is Pub. L. 96–465, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071, which is classified principally to chapter 52 (§ 3901 et seq.) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 3901 of Title 22 and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, and also as part of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004, and not as part of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

2007—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 110–53, § 721(a)(1), substituted “integrate and disseminate intelligence and information related to” for “address”. Subsecs. (d) to (f). Pub. L. 110–53, § 721(a)(3), added subsecs. (d) to (f). Former subsecs. (d) and (e) redesignated (g) and (h), respectively. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–53, § 721(b), reenacted heading without change and amended text of subsec. (g) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Not later than 180 days after December 17, 2004, the President shall transmit to Congress a report regarding the implementation of this section, including a description of the staffing and resource needs of the Center.” Pub. L. 110–53, § 721(a)(2), redesignated subsec. (d) as (g). Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 110–53, § 721(a)(2), redesignated subsec. (e) as (h). Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 110–53, § 721(c), added subsec. (i).

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions For assignment of functions of President under subsec. (g) of this section, see section 1 of Memorandum of President of the United States, Apr. 21, 2005, 70 F.R. 48633, set out as a note under section 301 of Title 3, The President.

§1777 Establishment of Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center