Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/1644

 95 STAT. 1618

PUBLIC LAW 9 7 - 1 1 6 - D E C. 29, 1981

owner or other person in charge of such conveyance was a consenting party or privy to the illegal act; and "(B) no conveyance shall be forfeited under the provisions of this section by reason of any act or omission established by the owner thereof to have been committed or omitted by any person other than such owner while such conveyance was unlawfully in the possession of a person other than the owner in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State. "(2) Any conveyance subject to seizure under this section may be seized without warrant if there is probable cause to believe the conveyance has been used in a violation of subsection (a) and circumstances exist where a warrant is not constitutionally required. "(3) All provisions of law relating to the seizure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of property for the violation of the customs laws; the disposition of such property or the proceeds from the sale thereof; the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures; and the compromise of claims and the award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions hereof, except that duties imposed on customs officers or other persons regarding the seizure and forfeiture of conveyances under the customs laws shall be performed with respect to seizures and forfeitures carried out under the provisions of this section by such officers or persons authorized for that purpose by the Attorney General. "(4) Whenever a conveyance is forfeited under this section the Attorney General may— "(A) retain the conveyance for official use; "(B) sell the conveyance, in which case the proceeds from any such sale shall be used to pay all proper expenses of the proceedings for forfeiture and sale including expenses of seizure, maintenance of custody, advertising, and court costs; or "(C) require that the General Services Administration take custody of the conveyance and remove it for disposition in accordance with law. "(5) In all suits or actions brought for the forfeiture of any conveyance seized under this section, where the conveyance is claimed by any person, the burden of proof shall lie upon such claimant: Provided, That probable cause shall be first shown for the institution of such suit or action. In determining whether probable cause exists, any of the following shall be prima facie evidence that an alien involved in the alleged violation was not lawfully entitled to enter, or reside within, the United States: "(A) Records of any judicial or administrative proceeding in which that alien's status was an issue and in which it was determined that the alien was not lawfully entitled to enter, or reside within, the United States. "(B) Official records of the Service showing that the alien was not lawfully entitled to enter, or reside within, the United States. "(C) Testimony, by an immigration officer having personal knowledge of the facts concerning that alien's status, that the alien was not entitled to enter, or reside within, the United States.". SEC. 13. Section 286 (8 U.S.C. 1356) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and by inserting "and subsection (b)" in that subsection after "Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a)", and

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