Legislation to eliminate a visa check system at international border crossings for trucking has been introduced in both houses of Congress.
Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.) submitted a proposal on March 25 that would eliminate the mandate for automated entry-exit system at land and sea ports. The Attorney General would be required to tell Congress within a year whether a workable system could be developed.
The legislation is similar to a bill that unanimously passed the Senate in 1998, but was not acted upon by the House.
At the urging of numerous transportation and trade groups, Congress last fall delayed until March 2001 implementation of an automated system that would check all foreign nationals at the border to ensure they did not overstay their visas. Implementation of this provision of a 1996 immigration law, known as Section 110, would have led to increased traffic backups and delays of up to 17 hours at some ports of entry, according to trucking.
Abraham’s bill authorizes the hiring of additional customs and immigrations inspectors to help catch drug traffickers.
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