Dept. of Homeland Security: Immigration Enforcement Restructured, Appointments for New Dept. Made

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Removal Procedures and Defenses

DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT RESTRUCTURED, APPOINTMENTS FOR NEW DEPT. MADE
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 1, February 21, 2003

The relocation of immigration services and enforcement into the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun. As previously reported, enforcement was to be located in the Bureau of Border Security within the huge Border and Transportation Security Directorate in the DHS. Immigration services are not located in any of the directorates. They are instead to be handled by a free-floating component called the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

On Jan. 30, 2003, President George W. Bush submitted to Congress a modification to the Homeland Security reorganization plan, which somewhat changes the arrangement of enforcement responsibilities. Under the new configuration, one bureau within the Border and Transportation Security Directorate will deal with inspections and enforcement on the border, and another bureau in the same directorate will deal with investigations and enforcement once the border is crossed.

At the Border. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection will combine Immigration and Naturalization Service inspections services, Border Patrol, Customs Service (including canine officers), and the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection program. It will be directed by the Customs commissioner, who will report to the undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security. This new bureau will bring together about 30,000 employees and will focus on the movement of people and goods across the border.

Once the Border Is Crossed. The Bureau of Border Security (established in the 2002 DHS legislation) will be renamed the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It will bring together the investigative and enforcement functions of the INS and of the Customs Service, and Federal Protective Services. This bureau will focus on enforcing immigration and customs laws within the interior of the U.S. It will be headed by an assistant secretary who will report directly to the undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security.

This modification does not explain how the two bureaus responsible for enforcement will coordinate their activities, or how they will coordinate with the services bureau. As previously reported, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services will remain a separate bureau and focus exclusively on immigration and citizenship services.

This reorganization plan will take effect on Mar. 1, 2003.

Meanwhile, appointments to the new department continue. Tom Ridge was confirmed as DHS secretary. Asa Hutchinson, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, was confirmed as undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security. Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner has been named head of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be headed by Michael Garcia, who has been acting INS commissioner since Nov. 2002. He is a career federal prosecutor who participated in a series of antiterrorism prosecutions. The White House has also announced that Eduardo Aguirre Jr., currently vice chairman and first vice president of the Import-Export Bank, will be named director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. He previously worked for Bank of America for 24 years. Until a replacement for his Import-Export Bank post is named, Aguirre will serve in both positions simultaneously.

According to the DHS Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Fact Sheet, President Bush has also announced that his FY 2004 budget requests for the DHS an allocation of $36.2 billion, a 7.4 percent increase in funding over FY 2003 and a 64 percent increase over FY 2002. This includes $18.1 billion for the Border and Transportation Security Directorate alone. The budget request also includes $100 million in new resources for the comprehensive entry-exit system, for a total of $480 million for that program. Finally, the budget request continues the president's $500 million initiative to reduce the backlog of applications.