Southwest Tourism Expansion Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5405 To establish a pilot program waiving the Form I–94 document issuance requirement for certain Mexican nationals. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 11, 2019 Mr. STANTON (for himself and Mr. SCHWEIKERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a pilot program waiving the Form I–94 docu- ment issuance requirement for certain Mexican nationals. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southwest Tourism 4 Expansion Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5405.IH H5405 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5405 IH SEC. 2. TEMPORARY WAIVER OF FORM I–94 BORDER CROSS- 1 ING CARDS AND EXTENSION FOR CERTAIN 2 MEXICAN NATIONALS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 4 rity shall waive the requirement to issue a Arrival-Depar- 5 ture Record Card (commonly known as ‘‘Form I–94’’) as 6 evidence of admission to the United States for any na- 7 tional of Mexico who— 8 (1) is eligible for admission to the United 9 States as a nonimmigrant; 10 (2) is exempt from— 11 (A) the visa and passport requirement pur- 12 suant to section 212.1(c)(1)(i) of title 8, Code 13 of Federal Regulations; or 14 (B) the Form I–94 requirement under sec- 15 tion 235.1(h) of such title; and 16 (3) is admitted at a port of entry in the State 17 of Arizona that is on the international border be- 18 tween the United States and Mexico for the purpose 19 of visiting the State of Arizona for a period not to 20 exceed 30 days. 21 (b) SUNSET.—This section shall remain in effect dur- 22 ing the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enact- 23 ment of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5405.IH H5405 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5405 IH SEC. 3. REPORT. 1 Not later than 270 days before the end of the 5-year 2 period referred to in section 2(b), the Secretary of Home- 3 land Security shall submit a report to the Committee on 4 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen- 5 ate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the 6 Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep- 7 resentatives, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 8 House of Representatives that identifies— 9 (1) the difference between the number of Mexi- 10 can nationals who entered the United States at a 11 port of entry in the State of Arizona during the first 12 4 years of the 5-year period referred to in section 13 2(b) and the number of such entries during such 4- 14 year period; 15 (2) the estimated economic impact on Arizona 16 generated by the additional Mexican nationals vis- 17 iting the State; 18 (3) the difference between the number of Mexi- 19 can nationals who overstayed their visa after enter- 20 ing the United States through a port of entry in the 21 State of Arizona during the first 4 years of the 5- 22 year period referred to in section 2(b) and the num- 23 ber of such overstays during such 4-year period; and 24 (4) the improvements to border security and the 25 cost savings realized by U.S. Customs and Border 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5405.IH H5405 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5405 IH Protection as a result of the waiver under section 1 2(a), which reduced the number of personnel needed 2 to process Form I–94 documents and using a por- 3 tion of such savings to enhance law enforcement 4 functions. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5405.IH H5405 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS