S 799 IS
April 30, 2001
Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. CLELAND, Mr. KERRY, Mr. REID, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the `Reasonable Search Standards Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress makes the following findings:
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(1) During fiscal years 1997 and 1998 approximately 140,000,000 people entered the United States on international flights.
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(2) Customs Service personnel selected about 102,000 passengers for further inspection.
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(3) Of the 102,000 passengers, 95 percent were searched by Customs Service personnel for contraband or hidden weapons by patting the passenger's clothed body, 4 percent were strip searched, and 1 percent were subjected to an x-ray examination.
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(4) Generally, passengers of particular races and gender were more likely than other passengers to be subjected to more intrusive types of personal searches.
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(5) However, in some cases the types of passengers who were more likely to be subjected to more intrusive personal searches were not as likely to be found carrying contraband.
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(6) African-American women were nearly 3 times as likely as African-American men to be strip-searched, even though they were only half as likely to be found carrying contraband.
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(7) African-American men and women were nearly 9 times as likely, and Hispanic men and women were nearly 4 times as likely, as white American men and women to be x-rayed, even though they were no more likely to be found carrying contraband.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
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In this Act:
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(1) CUSTOMS SERVICE PERSONNEL- The term `Customs Service personnel' means employees of the United States Customs Service who are responsible for inspecting, searching, interviewing, or examining people entering the United States.
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(2) INTRUSIVE NONROUTINE SEARCH- The term `intrusive nonroutine search' means any of the following actions taken to detect or remove contraband from a person:
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(A) A search involving the removal of some of a person's clothing to search for merchandise hidden on a person's body, but not including removal of a person's coat, shoes, belt, or pocket contents (commonly referred to as a `strip search').
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(B) A search involving use of a medical x-ray to determine the presence of merchandise within the body, or of other x-ray technology to determine the presence of merchandise on the body, including a body scan search (commonly referred to as an `x-ray search' or a `body scan search').
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(C) Any visual or physical intrusion into the rectal or vaginal cavity (commonly referred to as a `body cavity search').
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(D) Any action to require the individual to take a laxative or other similar drug.
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(E) A monitored bowel movement.
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(F) A surgical procedure.
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(G) Any action similar or related to an action described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (F).
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(3) PAT DOWN SEARCH- The term `pat down search' means a search that involves physical contact with a person's body or clothing to detect or remove contraband from the individual, but does not include any of the actions described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (1).
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(4) PROFILING- The term `profiling' means identifying persons entering the United States for inspection, search (including intrusive nonroutine searches and pat down searches), interview, or examination in whole or in part on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON RACIAL OR OTHER DISCRIMINATORY PROFILING BY CUSTOMS SERVICE PERSONNEL.
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Customs Service personnel shall not subject travelers to detention, pat down searches, intrusive nonroutine searches, or similar investigative actions, based in whole or in part on the actual or perceived race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation, except when Customs Service personnel are acting upon specific information that a particular traveler suspected of engaging in specific illegal activity is described by 1 or more of such characteristics.
SEC. 5. OTHER REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SEARCHES.
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Before subjecting an individual to a pat down search or an intrusive nonroutine search, Customs Service personnel shall document reasons to support the belief that the individual may be carrying contraband in violation of Federal law. The preceding requirement shall not apply to a situation in which Customs Service personnel suspect the individual is carrying a weapon.
SEC. 6. PERIODIC TRAINING OF CUSTOMS SERVICE PERSONNEL.
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The Commissioner of Customs shall require all Customs Service personnel to undergo, on a periodic basis, training on the procedures for identifying, detaining, and searching passengers, with particular emphasis on the prohibition on profiling. The training shall include a review of the reasons identified by Customs Service personnel for certain searches under section 5, the results of the searches conducted, and the effectiveness of the criteria used by Customs Service personnel.
SEC. 7. ANNUAL STUDY AND REPORT ON DETENTIONS AND SEARCHES OF INDIVIDUALS BY CUSTOMS SERVICE PERSONNEL.
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(a) STUDY- The Commissioner of Customs shall conduct a study on detentions and searches of persons by Customs Service personnel during the preceding calendar year. The study shall include the number of searches conducted by Customs Service personnel, the race, gender, and citizenship of the travelers subject to the searches, the type of searches conducted (including pat down searches and intrusive nonroutine searches) and the results of the searches.
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(b) REPORT- Not later than March 31 of each year, the Commissioner of Customs shall submit to Congress an annual report containing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) for the preceding calendar year.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
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(a) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2002 and each fiscal year thereafter such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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(b) AVAILABILITY- Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
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