119th Congress Immigration
S. 578: BEST Facilitation Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill establishes a pilot program for positions within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to review inspection images of vehicles and cargo entering or exiting the United States.
Specifically, the bill establishes the position of image technician 1 within the CBP Office of Field Operations. An image technician must (1) review nonintrusive inspection images of vehicles and cargo entering or exiting the United States; (2) assess whether such vehicles and cargo contain contraband, illicit drugs, weapons, or persons seeking to unlawfully enter the United States; and (3) refer suspicious vehicles and cargo for further inspection by a CBP officer. These reviews must take place at one of five regional command centers established pursuant to this pilot program.
The bill also establishes the position of image technician 2 with additional responsibilities, including receiving and reporting intelligence to the National Targeting Center about techniques used by malign actors to transport contraband, illicit drugs, weapons, and persons seeking to unlawfully enter the United States.
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Image technicians must be supervised by a supervisory CBP officer.
The bill establishes annual training requirements for both positions, including training on privacy and civil liberties and how to analyze inspection images.
This pilot program ends five years after the date of enactment of this bill. Individuals employed as image technicians at the end of the pilot program may transfer to comparable positions within CBP or the Department of Homeland Security.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- John Cornyn R-TXOriginal
- Mark Kelly D-AZOriginal
- Raphael Warnock D-GA
Who scored on this bill
- 1James Lankford SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
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History
- Introduced in the Senate by James Lankford.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.