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House Votes to Dismantle U.S. Immigration Agency
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Posted on April 25, 2002 April 25, 2002 New York Times House Votes to Dismantle U.S. Immigration Agency By DAVID STOUT WASHINGTON, April 25 — The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly this afternoon to dismantle the Immigration and Naturalization Service, an agency that has come under growing criticism, especially since the Sept. 11 attacks. The 405-to-9 vote to dissolve the service and divide its function into two bureaus, one for enforcement and the other for services, came a day after the Bush administration unexpectedly threw its support behind the measure. The bureaus would be overseen by a new associate attorney general, who would be the third-ranking official in the Justice Department, the immigration service's parent agency. Today's vote made it increasingly probable that the I.N.S. will not continue in its present form. But the new form of the agency — or agencies — and when the change will be final were by no means certain. Attorney General John Ashcroft said today the measure "contains giant steps" toward reform of the immigration service and "puts us on the road to real achievement." Mr. Ashcroft praised the House Judiciary Committee chairman, F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin, for his work in getting the bill passed. But his remarks underscored White House reservations about it. For one thing, the Bush administration fears that the House bill, as written, would give the new associate attorney general less authority over immigration policy and the agency's budget than the current immigration commissioner, James W. Ziglar, now has. The Senate is also working on a bill to revamp the immigration service. That bill has the support of senators as far apart ideologically as Edward M. Kennedy, a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts, and Sam Brownback, a conservative Republican from Kansas, so it appears probable that something will come out of that chamber. Differences between the House and Senate bills would have to be worked out, and the administration has made it clear that it will try to tweak the legislation in the Senate. "We are eager to make sure that the outcome serves America well," Mr. Ashcroft said today. Before this afternoon's vote, he said the House version "will provide a pathway for getting that done." "This is not the end of the journey," Mr. Ashcroft said. "This is an important set of first steps essential to the journey's end, but not sufficient to get us there." Until Wednesday, the White House seemed committed to dividing the I.N.S. into two branches administratively while keeping the agency intact. But on Wednesday afternoon, the administration chose to support the Sensenbrenner-backed bill, albeit with reservations, rather than get into a prolonged fight with its House Republican allies. "We are committed to ending the I.N.S. as our nation knows it," Mr. Ashcroft said today. "Our nation's security depends on protecting our lengthy borders. Our nation's prosperity depends on welcoming needed workers." The attorney general's comments reflected the immigration service's dual mission: serving legal immigrants and helping them navigate the path toward citizenship, while protecting the country against dangerous outsiders, including terrorists. Long before the Sept. 11 attacks, the I.N.S. had been widely criticized. Critics said it gave confusing, sometimes conflicting advice to the immigrants it was supposed to be helping, and that it was being swamped by its own paperwork. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks raised more questions about how well the I.N.S. is tending to border security. The 19 hijackers entered the United States on valid visas, but several were illegally in the country by Sept. 11. Two of the 19 were granted visa extensions, while a third was still getting a government aviation newsletter in the mail — months after all had died. |