{ "id": "R43975", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43975", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 458561, "date": "2017-01-27", "retrieved": "2017-02-03T19:11:14.061488", "title": "Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements", "summary": "Federal law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to construct barriers along the U.S. borders to deter illegal crossings. DHS is also required to construct reinforced fencing along at least 700 miles of the land border with Mexico (a border that stretches 1,933 miles). Congress has not provided a deadline for DHS to meet this 700-mile requirement, and as of the date of this report, fencing would need to be deployed along nearly 50 additional miles to satisfy the 700-mile requirement. Nor has Congress provided guidelines regarding the specific characteristics of fencing or other physical barriers (e.g., their height or material composition) deployed along the border, beyond specifying that required fencing must be reinforced.\nThe primary statute authorizing the deployment of fencing and other barriers along the international borders is Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; P.L. 104-208, div. C). Congress made significant amendments to IIRIRA Section 102 through three enactments\u2014the REAL ID Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-13, div. B), the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-367), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161, div. E). These amendments required DHS to construct hundreds of miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, and they also gave the Secretary of DHS broad authority to waive \u201call legal requirements\u201d that may impede construction of barriers and roads under IIRIRA Section 102. These statutory modifications, along with increased funding for border projects, resulted in the deployment of several hundred miles of new barriers along the southwest border between 2005 and 2011. But in the years following, DHS largely stopped deploying additional fencing, as the agency altered its enforcement strategy in a manner that places less priority upon barrier construction. \nOn January 25, 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order that, among other things, instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security to \u201ctake all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border ... to most effectively achieve complete operational control\u201d of the U.S.-Mexico border. The order defines a \u201cwall\u201d to mean \u201ca contiguous, physical wall or other similarly secure, contiguous, and impassable physical barrier.\u201d The order does not identify the contemplated mileage of the wall to be constructed.\nUntil recently, interest in the framework governing the deployment of barriers along the international border typically focused on the stringency of the statutory mandate to deploy fencing along at least 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. But attention has now shifted to those provisions of law that permit deployment of fencing or other physical barriers along additional mileage. IIRIRA Section 102 authorizes DHS to construct additional fencing or other barriers along the U.S. land borders beyond the 700 miles specified in statute. Indeed, nothing in current law would appear to bar DHS from installing hundreds of miles of additional physical barriers, at least so long as this action was determined appropriate to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry or was deemed warranted to achieve \u201coperational control\u201d of the southern border. DHS\u2019s policy not to deploy a substantial amount of additional fencing, beyond what is expressly required by law, appeared primarily premised on policy considerations and funding constraints, rather than significant legal impediments.\nThis report discusses the statutory framework governing the deployment of fencing and other barriers along the U.S. international borders. For more extensive discussion of ongoing activities and operations along the border between ports of entry, see CRS Report R42138, Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry, by Carla N. Argueta.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43975", "sha1": "0cfab854771c2f69434876a07f3980032f2cb900", "filename": "files/20170127_R43975_0cfab854771c2f69434876a07f3980032f2cb900.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43975", "sha1": "1039af59774236ccdb6046c566ed1f63d5610f36", "filename": "files/20170127_R43975_1039af59774236ccdb6046c566ed1f63d5610f36.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 457104, "date": "2016-11-18", "retrieved": "2016-11-21T15:05:38.324225", "title": "Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements", "summary": "Securing the borders is an issue of perennial concern to Congress. Federal law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to construct barriers along the U.S. borders to deter illegal crossings. DHS is also required to construct reinforced fencing along at least 700 miles of the land border with Mexico (a border that stretches 1,933 miles), though Congress has not provided a deadline for its completion. Nor has Congress provided specific guidelines about the characteristics of such fencing (e.g., the height or material composition of the fencing) or other barriers that DHS may deploy. At this time, fence construction has largely been halted, though DHS still needs to deploy fencing along nearly 50 additional miles of the southwest border to satisfy the 700-mile requirement. \nThe primary statute authorizing DHS to deploy barriers along the international borders is Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; P.L. 104-208, div. C). Congress made significant amendments to IIRIRA Section 102 through three enactments\u2014the REAL ID Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-13, div. B), the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-367), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161, div. E). These amendments required that DHS construct hundreds of miles of new fencing along the border, and they also provided the Secretary of DHS with broad authority to waive \u201call legal requirements\u201d that may impede construction of barriers and roads under IIRIRA Section 102. These statutory modifications, along with increased funding for border projects, resulted in the deployment of several hundred miles of new barriers along the southwest border between 2005 and 2011. In recent years, DHS has largely stopped deploying additional fencing along the border, as the agency has altered its enforcement strategy in a manner that places less priority upon barrier construction.\nBoth during and immediately following the 2016 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump stated that the construction of additional barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a top priority for his Administration. Although interest in the framework governing the deployment of barriers along the international border during the Obama Administration typically focused on the stringency of the statutory mandate to deploy fencing along at least 700 miles of the southern border, attention may shift to those provisions in current law that allow, but do not require, the deployment of fencing or other physical barriers along additional mileage of the border. IIRIRA Section 102 authorizes DHS to construct additional fencing or other barriers along the U.S. land borders beyond the 700 miles specified in statute. Indeed, nothing in current statute would appear to bar DHS from potentially installing hundreds of miles of additional fencing or other barriers along the border, at least so long as the action was determined appropriate to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry. Moreover, IIRIRA Section 102 grants DHS authority to waive any legal requirement that would impede the expeditious construction of additional barriers and roads. DHS\u2019s current policy not to deploy a substantial amount of additional fencing, beyond what is expressly required by law, appears primarily premised on policy considerations and funding constraints, rather than significant legal impediments.\nThis report discusses the statutory framework governing the deployment of fencing and other barriers along the U.S. international borders. For more extensive discussion of ongoing activities and operations along the border between ports of entry, see CRS Report R42138, Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry, by Carla N. Argueta.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43975", "sha1": "1a7df9eb040cbe6ce896759f6e4195911993a1aa", "filename": "files/20161118_R43975_1a7df9eb040cbe6ce896759f6e4195911993a1aa.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43975", "sha1": "799d76515322b4df112e4430fadf3bec12c58cc6", "filename": "files/20161118_R43975_799d76515322b4df112e4430fadf3bec12c58cc6.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 441068, "date": "2015-04-08", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:15:08.788659", "title": "Barriers Along the U.S. Borders: Key Authorities and Requirements", "summary": "Securing the borders is an issue of perennial concern to Congress. Federal law authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to construct barriers along the U.S. borders to deter illegal crossings. DHS is also required to construct reinforced fencing along at least 700 miles of the land border with Mexico (a border that stretches 1,933 miles), though Congress has not provided a deadline for its completion. At this time, fence construction has largely been halted, though DHS still needs to deploy fencing along nearly 50 additional miles of the southwest border to satisfy the 700-mile requirement.\nThe primary statute authorizing DHS to deploy barriers along the international borders is Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA; P.L. 104-208, div. C). Congress made significant amendments to IIRIRA Section 102 through three enactments\u2014the REAL ID Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-13, div. B), the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-367), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161, div. E). These amendments required that DHS construct hundreds of miles of new fencing along the border, and also provided the Secretary of DHS with broad authority to waive \u201call legal requirements\u201d that may impede construction of barriers and roads under IIRIRA Section 102. These statutory modifications, along with increased funding for border projects, resulted in the deployment of several hundred miles of new barriers along the southwest border between 2005 and 2011. In recent years, DHS has largely stopped deploying additional fencing along the border, as the agency has altered its enforcement strategy in a manner that places less priority upon fencing.\nAs amended by the Secure Fence Act in 2006, IIRIRA Section 102(b) required DHS to install at least two layers of reinforced fencing along five stretches of the southwest border totaling more than 700 miles. IIRIRA was substantially revised just over a year later by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, to replace this requirement with a mandate that DHS install reinforced fencing (but not necessarily in two or more layers) \u201calong not less than 700 miles\u201d of the border.\nSection 102(b) provides that \u201cnotwithstanding\u201d this requirement, DHS is not legally obligated to install fencing at \u201cany particular location.\u201d One way to construe this clause is simply to indicate that, while DHS is required to install fencing along at least 700 miles of the border, it is not required to install any portion of the mandated fencing at any specific location (in contrast to the earlier requirement of the Secure Fence Act). An alternative interpretation of this clause has also been suggested (including by some DHS officials, but not consistently), under which DHS could potentially construct fencing along less than 700 miles of the border and satisfy the statute\u2019s fencing requirements, if it determined additional fencing to be unwarranted. This broad interpretation of the clause seems problematic, however, as it would render Section 102(b)\u2019s provision requiring fencing \u201calong not less than 700 miles\u201d of the border meaningless. The legislative history behind the changes made to IIRIRA Section 102(b) also favors the narrower interpretation. Legislation in the 114th Congress, including H.R. 399, the Secure Our Borders First Act of 2015, as reported by the House Homeland Security Committee, would effectively mandate the completion of the remaining mileage and also provide additional fencing specifications.\nThis report discusses key statutory authorities and requirements governing DHS\u2019s construction of barriers along the U.S. borders. It also includes appendixes listing federal laws that have been waived by DHS in furtherance of border construction projects. For more extensive discussion of ongoing activities and operations along the border between ports of entry, see CRS Report R42138, Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry, by Lisa Seghetti.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43975", "sha1": "36eab205981e98cf1ba0c02f82b3debba152f8e0", "filename": "files/20150408_R43975_36eab205981e98cf1ba0c02f82b3debba152f8e0.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43975", "sha1": "074cd1a3aab8ac9a6d685aa00c7738fa4d421cef", "filename": "files/20150408_R43975_074cd1a3aab8ac9a6d685aa00c7738fa4d421cef.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Environmental Policy" ] }