The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a powerful federal agency that lasted 70 years, from 1933-2003, to enforce the United States’ laws of immigration and naturalization.
The INS had the power to grant visas (including permanent residence visas or “green cards”), to make foreigners into U.S. citizens, to fight terrorism and smuggling, and to investigate, detain and deport suspected illegal immigrants.
The INS was a huge operation with thousands of employees. It didn’t get everything right. Many felt that its vast amount of duties caused the agency to be inefficient and commonly erroneous.
On September 11, 2001, 19 foreigners whom the INS had allowed to enter the U.S. on student or tourist visas committed horrific terrorist attacks, killing 2,977 people in New York, Washington, and on Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco, California.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the INS’ contacts with two of the 9/11 terrorists, and found them to have been inadequate. Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi entered the U.S. on tourist visas and, while here, filed papers to change their status to students so they could attend flight school.
The OIG criticized the INS for its delay in processing the men’s student change of status applications, and noted that the INS was so sloppy that it continued to mail them their student visas after the attacks had already occurred. The OIG noticed that the INS had no system in place to track foreign students living in the U.S. Because of this, the INS was forced to make critical decisions about student aliens without having access to important information about their activities and whereabouts.
(Note: since that time, the Department of Homeland Security has instituted the SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) to monitor international students and schools for ongoing immigration compliance. The SEVP is designed to ensure that now government immigration agencies have essential data related to students and exchange visitors to preserve national security.)
The OIG’s assessment was that the INS was incompetent at protecting the United States from terrorists. The INS’ defense was that only one of the 19 terrorists entered the U.S. on a student visa. The rest entered on tourist visas, so the OIG should not have pointed the finger at the INS’ student visa program. When the OIG then reviewed the attackers’ tourist visa applications, it found scribbled writing and wrong answers that should have caused the INS to red-flag the applications.
As a result of the criticism, in 2003 the INS was dissolved. It was reconfigured as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its functions were divided up into three different agencies:
The reorganization led to some legal changes. The INS had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, and it worked closely with the FBI. It had to follow federal rules concerning police apprehension of criminals. For example, the INS could not enter people’s homes to search for illegal aliens.
Today, immigration enforcement falls under the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security. Because they are not conducted by police-type officials, home raids are now legal.
1882 – Early 1900s: A Question of Commerce
The origins of the INS stretch back to the end of the U.S. Civil War. After the war, individual states began enacting and enforcing their own immigration laws. The federal government recognized the need for a uniform set of immigration rules applied across the country. In 1882, the U.S. Congress gave the office of the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to monitor immigration and naturalization.
In 1891, this authority was transferred to the newly established Office of the Superintendent of Immigration. Inspectors were stationed at U.S. ports, primarily to collect taxes from immigrants (a “head tax” of fifty cents per immigrant).
In the early 1900s, Congress’ primary interest in immigration was to protect American workers and wages. This made immigration more a matter of commerce than revenue. In 1903, Congress transferred responsibility for immigration to the recently created Department of Commerce and Labor, reasoning that the primary concerns of immigration — protecting American workers and wages — fell under its jurisdiction. It was renamed “Immigration and Naturalization Services” – the INS.
1921 – 1940: Limiting Number of Migrants
After World War I, Congress attempted to stem the flow of mostly northern and western European immigrants by passing laws in 1921 and 1924 limiting the number of foreign newcomers. A quota was assigned to each nationality based upon its representation in prior U.S. Census figures, and only a limited number of visas were issued, on an annual basis.
A number of unanticipated difficulties arose, and the focal point of these issues was Ellis Island. The island had become the main entry point for immigrants to the United States. Unfortunately, it became the center of a number of corruption and brutality scandals, which led President Theodore Roosevelt to appoint an attorney to resolve its difficulties.
Internment
In 1941, Justice Department officials decided that the INS would oversee the internment of “enemy aliens” arrested by the FBI should the U.S. enter the war. Three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the INS put these plans into effect. The INS immediately put 2,295 Japanese, German, and Italian nationals into custody. Many of these “enemy aliens” had resided in the United States for decades. They were arrested without warrants or formal charges, and were not allowed attorneys nor were they allowed to call witnesses in their defense.
They were held in immigration stations for months before receiving a hearing, and then were released or transferred to an internment camp. It is estimated that approximately 32,000 people were interned by the INS during the war, many for as long as four years. Two-thirds of those held in internment camps were U.S. citizens.
The INS was reorganized two more times before being disbanded in 2003. First, in a move ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt, it moved from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice in 1940, and then the INS was transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Homeland Security.
In its last embodiment, INS worked with external agencies, including the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
2003: Disbanded
The INS was dissolved in 2003, one year after it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. immigration law changes frequently; sometimes, with each presidency. That is one reason that it is important to find a lawyer who is up-to-date on immigration laws and processes if you should encounter any immigration legal issues. These lawyers work to guide their clients through the complex immigration process and laws.
An experienced immigration lawyer can help you deal with any government agencies and immigration issues you may encounter.
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