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Guest Commentary April 10, 2002
Restoring Order to the INS
The Honorable Jo Ann Emerson
"From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome... Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." - Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)
These words are inscribed on the bronze plaque mounted on the base of the Statue of Liberty in 1903. The statue, as author Frank Spiering once wrote, "is the bearer of a million dreams." In fact, many of our ancestors have handed down an oral history of generations past who came to Ellis Island, saw the Statue of Liberty and in her, saw a new life full of hope, opportunity and prosperity. As many would say, in the Statue of Liberty you see the "American Dream."
Over the years things have changed dramatically. While our country is still a nation founded by immigrants, our immigration laws have not always allowed the country to operate in its best interests. The result is that today we have an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that has been widely criticized for failing to identify and keep out those who try to enter illegally or who may pose a danger to those living and working here in the United States.
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Our nation's immigration system has long been in need of an overhaul and top to bottom "house cleaning." Last year's attacks exposed some of the challenges and problems that have been plaguing the INS. Attorney General John Ashcroft noted as much, saying the September 11th attacks highlighted the urgency for its restructuring. The pressure has only intensified in recent weeks after the approved student visa paperwork for two of the hijackers from the September 11th attacks were received at the Florida flight school where the terrorists learned to fly the types of planes they later crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In response to the criticism, INS Commissioner James Ziglar plans to unveil a number of new initiatives aimed at reforming some of the INS' shortcomings. A few of those changes include: shortening the length of visitors' visas from six months to one, requiring schools to tell the INS about foreign students' attendance and dropouts, issuing new passports with improved security features to prevent forgery and developing a system to monitor all who enter and exit the United States.
However, those actions are not enough. This week, as Congress reconvenes, the INS and its policies will undergo even further scrutiny as the House Judiciary Committee begins reviewing legislation designed to overhaul the INS. This specific legislation and several other bills introduced over the last several months all share a similar goal -- tearing down the INS and replacing it with an agency that works. While many of the goals are similar, some make very specific changes to the INS such as splitting its functions into two separate bureaus -- one for immigration enforcement and one for citizenship immigration services. The agency would be under the authority of a new Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, who would be the third-highest ranking office in the Justice Department. Other changes include requiring the agency to do more to improve procedures for issuing all visas and enhancing the ability of immigration, law enforcement and intelligence officials to take stronger steps to prevent foreign terrorists from entering the United States. Finally, steps would also be taken to allow the INS to immediately detain or deport known terrorists or terrorist suspects.'
As Congress works with the INS and the Administration to restructure its services, I'll be supporting those efforts which reduce agency shortcomings and increase its accountability. I'm hopeful that adopting those standards will allow us to pass well-designed and well thought out legislation to ensure that the approval and mailing of visas for terrorists will never again simply be referred to as an embarrassing blunder or a horrible mistake. Restructuring the INS will not solve all of our problems, but instilling and expecting accountability is certainly a step in the right direction. Most importantly, it is a step which must be taken so that our nation can preserve the freedom and security our forefathers sought when they first came to Ellis Island.
Jo Ann Emerson, a Republican, represents the 8th Congressional District of Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives. The above commentary has been adapted from a weekly column Rep. Emerson issues, April 5, 2002. To contact her, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
