WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA), chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, passed the Cooperation on Combating Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act and the Emerging Digital Identity Ecosystem Report Act through the House Homeland Security Committee today. Both are bipartisan pieces of legislation and await a floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Introduced last year with Congressman Lou Correa (D-CA), the Cooperation on Combating Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to enhance border security by empowering law enforcement with the necessary tools to identify and disrupt human smuggling and human trafficking operations.
Introduced this year with Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL), the Emerging Digital Identity Ecosystem Report Act seeks to evaluate how digital identification systems are impacting the homeland security landscape. It requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator to compile and submit a report to Congress on the current state of digital ID ecosystems and the value of digital ID technologies in the transportation sector.
“Both bills represent a real, bipartisan effort to ensure the safety and security of our homeland,” said Congressman Clay Higgins. “From expanding American partnerships to investigate and prosecute smugglers and traffickers and making meaningful strides to better understand digital ID impacts, we are working to address the root of each problem. Simply put, our bipartisan legislation will help protect American lives.”
Read more on the Cooperation on Combating Human Smuggling and Trafficking Act here.
Read more on the Emerging Digital Identity Ecosystem Report Act of 2024 here.
