---
kind: "section"
citation: "6 U.S.C. § 224"
title: "6"
title_heading: "Domestic Security"
number: "224"
heading: "Other reporting requirements"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/6/224"
units:
  - "Chapter 1 — Homeland Security Organization"
  - "Subchapter IV — Border, Maritime, and Transportation Security"
  - "Part B — U.S. Customs and Border Protection"
---

# §224. Other reporting requirements

- (a) **Unidentified remains—**
  - (1) **Reporting requirement—** Not later than 1 year after December 31, 2020, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a report to the [appropriate committees of Congress](/usc/6/701.md?p=3) regarding all unidentified remains discovered, during the reporting period, on or near the border between the [United States](/usc/6/101.md?p=19-A) and Mexico, including—
    - (A) for each deceased person—
      - (i) the cause and manner of death, if known;
      - (ii) the sex, age (at time of death), and country of origin (if such information is determinable); and
      - (iii) the location of each unidentified remain;
    - (B) the total number of deceased people whose unidentified remains were discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the reporting period;
    - (C) to the extent such information is available to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the total number of deceased people whose unidentified remains were discovered by Federal, [State](/usc/6/101.md?p=17), local or Tribal law enforcement officers, military [personnel](/usc/6/101.md?p=15), or medical examiners offices;
    - (D) the efforts of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to engage with nongovernmental organizations, institutions of higher education, medical examiners and coroners, and law enforcement [agencies](/usc/6/671.md?p=1)—
      - (i) to identify and map the locations at which migrant deaths occur; and
      - (ii) to count the number of deaths that occur at such locations; and
    - (E) a detailed description of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Missing Migrant Program, including how the program helps mitigate migrant deaths while maintaining border security.
  - (2) **Public disclosure—** Not later than 30 days after each report required under [paragraph (1)](#a-1) is submitted, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall publish on the website of the [agency](/usc/6/671.md?p=1) the information described in subparagraphs [(A)](#a-1-A), [(B)](#a-1-B), and [(C)](#a-1-C) of paragraph (1) during each reporting period.
- (b) **Rescue beacons—** Not later than 1 year after December 31, 2020, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall submit a report to the [appropriate committees of Congress](/usc/6/701.md?p=3) regarding the use of rescue beacons along the border between the [United States](/usc/6/101.md?p=19-A) and Mexico, including, for the reporting period—
  - (1) the number of rescue beacons in each border patrol sector;
  - (2) the specific location of each rescue beacon;
  - (3) the frequency with which each rescue beacon was activated by a person in distress;
  - (4) a description of the nature of the distress that resulted in each rescue beacon activation (if such information is determinable); and
  - (5) an assessment, in consultation with local stakeholders, including elected officials, nongovernmental organizations, and landowners, of necessary additional rescue beacons and recommendations for locations for deployment to reduce migrant deaths.
- (c) **GAO report—** Not later than 6 months after the report required under [subsection (a)](#a) is submitted to the [appropriate committees of Congress](/usc/6/701.md?p=3), the Comptroller General of the [United States](/usc/6/101.md?p=19-A) shall submit a report to the same committees that describes—
  - (1) how U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects and records border-crossing death data;
  - (2) the differences (if any) in U.S. Customs and Border Protection border-crossing death data collection methodology across its sectors;
  - (3) how U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s data and statistical analysis on trends in the numbers, locations, causes, and characteristics of border-crossing deaths compare to other sources of data on these deaths, including border county medical examiners and coroners and the [Centers](/usc/6/681.md?p=1) for Disease Control and Prevention;
  - (4) how U.S. Customs and Border Protection measures the effectiveness of its programs to mitigate migrant deaths; and
  - (5) the extent to which U.S. Customs and Border Protection engages Federal, [State](/usc/6/101.md?p=17), local, and [Tribal governments](/usc/6/701.md?p=16), foreign diplomatic and consular posts, and nongovernmental organizations—
    - (A) to accurately identify deceased individuals;
    - (B) to resolve cases involving unidentified remains;
    - (C) to resolve cases involving unidentified persons; and
    - (D) to share information on missing persons and unidentified remains, specifically with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 116–277, § 5, Dec. 31, 2020, 134 Stat. 3370.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was enacted as part of Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019, and not as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 which comprises this chapter.