House bill would require annual reports on illegal immigrants within US borders

The House is expected to vote next week on a bill requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report annually the number of people illegally inside the United States.

Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.) introduced the Mandatory Operational Control Reporting and Performance Measures Act, H.R. 6025, which would also require an annual report on how much U.S. land is under DHS operational control.

The House is slated to take up several bills affecting the Department of Homeland Security next week, including the DHS Accountability Act, H.R. 5913.

The DHS Accountability Act would establish an advisory panel to make recommendation on how to improve the management and efficiency of DHS. It was introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).

The House will also consider a bill that passed in the Senate, H.R. 915, the Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act, named after a Homeland Security special agent who was shot to death by a Mexican cartel last year.

Introduced by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), H.R. 915 would establish Border Enforcement Security Task Force units. The bill would encourage collaboration among federal, state, local, tribal and foreign law enforcement agencies to execute border security and homeland security missions, as well as boost information sharing between such agencies.

The House will return from Thanksgiving break Monday to work during the lame-duck session and consider other bills addressing homeland security.

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