Immigration and Naturalization Service

Immigration and Naturalization Service

Infobox Government agency
agency_name = Immigration and Naturalization Service
type = Department


seal_width = 140 px
seal_caption =
formed = June 22, 1870
dissolved = March 2003
superseding = Immigration and Customs Enforcement
jurisdiction = Federal government of the United States
website = [http://www.usdoj.gov/ins www.usdoj.gov/ins]
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a part of the United States Department of Justice and handled legal and illegal immigration and naturalization. It ceased to exist on March 1, 2003.

Most of its functions were transferred to three new agencies within the newly-created Department of Homeland Security in March 2003. The administration of immigration services, including permanent residence, naturalization, asylum, and other functions became the responsibility of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), which existed only for a short time before changing to its current name, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The investigative and enforcement functions (including investigations, deportation, and intelligence) were combined with U.S. Customs investigators, the Federal Protective Service, and the Federal Air Marshal Service, to create U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The border functions of the INS, which included the Border Patrol along with INS Inspectors, were combined with U.S. Customs Inspectors into the newly created U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Mission

Protected and enforced the laws of naturalization, the process by which a foreign-born person becomes a citizen. The INS also tackled illegal entrance into the United States, preventing receipt of benefits such as social security or unemployment by those ineligible to receive them, and investigated, detained, and deported those illegally living in the United States.

tructure

At the head of the INS was a commissioner appointed by the president who reported to the Attorney General in the Department of Justice. The INS worked closely with the United Nations, the Department of State, and the Department of Health and Human Services. The INS was a very large and complex organization that had four main divisions—Programs, Field Operations, Policy and Planning, and Management—that were responsible for operations and management.

The operational functions of the INS included the Programs and Field Operations divisions. The Programs division was responsible for handling all the functions involved with enforcement and examinations, including the arrest, detaining, and deportation of illegal immigrants as well as controlling illegal and legal entry.

The Field Operations division was responsible for overseeing INS' many offices operating throughout the country and the world. The Field Operations division implemented policies and handled tasks for its three regional offices, which in turn oversaw 33 districts and 21 border areas throughout the country. Internationally, the Field Operations division oversaw the Headquarters Office of International Affairs which in turn oversaw 16 offices outside the country.

The managerial functions of the INS included the Policy and Planning and Management divisions. The Office of Policy and Planning coordinated all information for the INS and communicated with other cooperating government agencies and the public. The office is divided into three areas: the Policy Division; the Planning Division; and the Evaluation and Research Center. The second managerial division, called the Management division, was responsible for maintaining the overall mission of the INS throughout its many offices and providing administrative services to these offices. These duties were handled by the offices of Information Resources Management, Finance, Human Resources and Administration, and Equal Employment Opportunity.

History of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

Shortly after the U.S. Civil War, some states started to pass their own immigration laws, which prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in 1875 that immigration was a federal responsibility. The Immigration Act of 1891Fact|date=March 2008 established an Office of the Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury Department. This office was responsible for admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the United States and for implementing national immigration policy. 'Immigrant Inspectors', as they were called then, were stationed at major U.S. ports of entry collecting manifests of arriving passengers. Its largest station was located on Ellis Island in New York harbor. Among other things, a 'head tax' of fifty cents was collected on each immigrant.

Paralleling some immigration concerns of today, in the early 1900s Congress' primary interest in immigration was to protect American workers and wages: the reason it had become a federal concern in the first place. This made immigration more a matter of commerce than revenue. In 1903, Congress transferred the Bureau of Immigration to the newly created (now-defunct) Department of Commerce and Labor.

After World War I, Congress attempted to stem the flow of immigrants, still mainly coming from Europe, by passing a law in 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924 limiting the number of newcomers by assigning a quota to each nationality based upon its representation in previous U.S. Census figures. Each year, the U.S. State Department issued a limited number of visas; only those immigrants who could present valid visas were permitted entry.

President Franklin Roosevelt moved the INS from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice in 1940.

External links

* [http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/ Offical Site (INS)]
* [http://findfederalagency.com/immigration-naturalization-service-ins History site]
* [http://www.dhs.gov Department of Homeland Security (DHS)]
* [http://www.uscis.gov U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the DHS]
* [http://www.ice.gov U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the DHS]
* [http://www.cbp.gov U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the DHS]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service — (INS) Formerly, the federal agency in the Department of Justice that administered and enforced immigration and naturalization laws. In 2003, however, the INS officially ceased to exist, and its functions were taken over by various branches of the …   Law dictionary

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service — Wappen der INS Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) war eine Behörde der Vereinigten Staaten und war für die Ein und Ausreise, Zuwanderung sowie Einbürgerung zuständig. Der INS ist am 1. März 2003 in drei verschiedene Behörden aufgegangen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr — 533 U.S. 289 (2001) is a United States Supreme Court case involving habeas corpus relief for deportable aliens. Facts Enrico St. Cyr pleaded guilty to a controlled substance violation in Connecticut. Under U.S. Immigration Law, St. Cyr, a lawful …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Aguirre-Aguirre — SCOTUSCase Litigants=INS v. Aguirre Aguirre ArgueDate=March 3 ArgueYear=1999 DecideDate=May 3 DecideYear=1999 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Aguirre Aguirre USVol=526 USPage=415 Prior=Petition for review in the Ninth CIrcuit… …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha — SCOTUSCase Litigants=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha ArgueDate=February 22 ArgueYear=1982 ReargueDate=December 7 ReargueYear=1982 DecideDate=June 23 DecideYear=1983 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Jagdish Rai… …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu — SCOTUSCase Litigants=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu ArgueDate=December 1 ArgueYear=1987 DecideDate=March 1 DecideYear=1988 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service, Petitioner v. Assibi Abudu USVol=485 USPage=94… …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Elias-Zacarias — SCOTUSCase Litigants=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Elias Zacarias ArgueDate=November 4 ArgueYear=1991 DecideDate=January 22 DecideYear=1992 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service, Petitioner v. Jairo Jonathan Elias Zacarias… …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Doherty — SCOTUSCase Litigants=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Doherty ArgueDate=October 16 ArgueYear=1991 DecideDate=January 15 DecideYear=1992 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service, Petitioner v. Joseph Patrick Doherty USVol=502… …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Stevic — SCOTUSCase Litigants=INS v. Stevic ArgueDate December 6 ArgueYear=1983 DecideDate=June 5 DecideYear=1984 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Stevic USVol=467 USPage=407 Citation= Holding=An alien must establish a clear probability… …   Wikipedia

  • Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca — SCOTUSCase Litigants=INS v. Cardoza Fonseca ArgueDate=October 7 ArgueYear=1986 DecideDate=March 9 DecideYear=1987 FullName=Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Cardoza Fonseca USVol=480 USPage=421 Prior=The Ninth Circuit had remanded the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”