§ 1225a. Preinspection at Foreign Airports

(a) Establishment of preinspection stations

(1) New stations

     Subject to paragraph (5), not later than October 31, 1998, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish and maintain preinspection stations in at least 5 of the foreign airports that are among the 10 foreign airports which the Attorney General identifies as serving as last points of departure for the greatest numbers of inadmissible alien passengers who arrive from abroad by air at ports of entry within the United States. Such preinspection stations shall be in addition to any preinspection stations established prior to September 30, 1996.

(2) Report

     Not later than October 31, 1998, the Attorney General shall report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate on the implementation of paragraph (1).

(3) Data collection

     Not later than November 1, 1997, and each subsequent November 1, the Attorney General shall compile data identifying—

     (A) the foreign airports which served as last points of departure for aliens who arrived by air at United States ports of entry without valid documentation during the preceding fiscal years;

     (B) the number and nationality of such aliens arriving from each such foreign airport; and

     (C) the primary routes such aliens followed from their country of origin to the United States.

(4) Additional stations

     Subject to paragraph (5), not later than October 31, 2000, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish preinspection stations in at least 5 additional foreign airports which the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines, based on the data compiled under paragraph (3) and such other information as may be available, would most effectively reduce the number of aliens who arrive from abroad by air at points of entry within the United States who are inadmissible to the United States. Such preinspection stations shall be in addition to those established prior to September 30, 1996, or pursuant to paragraph (1).

(5) Conditions

     Prior to the establishment of a preinspection station, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall ensure that—

     (A) employees of the United States stationed at the preinspection station and their accompanying family members will receive appropriate protection;

     (B) such employees and their families will not be subject to unreasonable risks to their welfare and safety; and

     (C) the country in which the preinspection station is to be established maintains practices and procedures with respect to asylum seekers and refugees in accordance with the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (done at Geneva, July 28, 1951), or the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (done at New York, January 31, 1967), or that an alien in the country otherwise has recourse to avenues of protection from return to persecution.

(b) Establishment of carrier consultant program

     The Attorney General shall assign additional immigration officers to assist air carriers in the detection of fraudulent documents at foreign airports which, based on the records maintained pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section, served as a point of departure for a significant number of arrivals at United States ports of entry without valid documentation, but where no preinspection station exists.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title II, ch. 4, § 235A, as added Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title I, § 123(a), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–560.)

Codification

     September 30, 1996, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), (4), was in the original "the date of the enactment of such Act", which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 104–208, which enacted this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.