Committee Chief Planning Markups for CBP, ICE Authorization Legislation
House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Chairwoman Candice Miller, R-Mich., intends in the “near future” to hold markups on CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorization legislation, she said in an April 8 hearing. The CBP Authorization Act, HR-3846 (here), and ICE Authorization Act, H.R. 4279 (here), would give the first formal congressional authorizations to the two agencies.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
“I remember when I first got on this committee and found out that neither CBP nor ICE had never been formally authorized by the Congress, I was floored to tell you the truth. That has been the principle impetus behind these two pieces of legislation,” said Miller. “Other agencies are annually authorized … routinely reauthorized by the Congress. And in this case that has not happened with these two agencies.” The CBP bill provides a strong framework for “technical assistance,” to the agency, said CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Daniel Ragsdale, along with McAleenan, submitted joint testimony at the hearing that outlined significant increases in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seizures of counterfeit goods (see 14040814).
“Both agencies continue to rely on very vague authority given to the Secretary or Homeland Security offices, like the Border and Transportation Directorate that no longer exists and certainly that is not a sustainable way to run two of the premier federal law enforcement agencies,” said Miller. “These bills specifically authorize each major component of the respective agencies.” The authorities draw from the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (here). CBP and ICE are not mentioned in the law. The wide-ranging committee jurisdiction over DHS has caused many committees to get involved on the two pieces of legislation, said Miller.