[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4363 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4363
To provide for the restructuring of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 1998
Mr. Watt of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. Berman) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the restructuring of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Immigration and Naturalization
Service Restructuring Act of 1998''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) advance the effective enforcement of our immigration
laws at our borders and in the interior, and the efficient
provision of immigration and citizenship services;
(2) untangle INS' overlapping and frequently confusing
organizational structure by replacing it with two clear
operational chains of command--one for enforcement and one for
providing services--from the highest level of the agency to the
lowest;
(3) create two parallel operational divisions which can
each focus on its unique management, knowledge, skills, and
abilities, while also retaining the essential functions for
guiding and coordinating these operations;
(4) improve customer-oriented immigrant services by:
(A) creating new local service offices;
(B) establishing new, distinct lines of
accountability of authority for services;
(C) setting clear standards for customer service;
and
(D) using technology to improve efficiency and
customer service;
(5) strengthen enforcement operations by:
(A) establishing a single, coordinated enforcement
mission;
(B) integrating enforcement, and strengthening
accountability;
(C) organizing enforcement areas by function,
including Border Patrol, inspections, investigations
and removals, detention, and enforcement support; and
(6) provide for efficient integration of service and
enforcement by:
(A) creating an administrative and technical
backbone of support for enforcement and service; and
(B) developing and managing essential immigration
records, computer systems, training, and shared
administrative functions.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) The term ``INA'' refers to the Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1952, as amended up to the effective date of
this Act.
(2) The term ``INS'' means the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act shall take
effect on October 1, 2000.
TITLE I--AGENCY ORGANIZATION
SEC. 101. AGENCY ORGANIZATION.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service [the Service] shall be
responsible for administering the immigration laws of the United
States. The Service will be organized in a way that ensures the
effective implementation of enforcement strategies at the border, the
interior of the country, and overseas, and the timely and efficient
provision of immigrant services and benefits with complete integrity.
The Service will be structured along programmatic lines and composed of
an: (1) Office of Immigrant Services, (2) Office of Enforcement
Operations, and (3) Office of Shared Services.
(a) Headquarters Operations.--The Service will be lead by a
Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner who will focus on immigration
enforcement and service policy and establish a framework to implement
national priorities. In addition, headquarters operations will be
responsible for policy formulation, strategic planning and the
development of agency goals, objectives and performance targets;
agency-wide management support and coordination; budget formulation and
execution; public affairs; Congressional relations; general counsel,
and internal audit.
(1) Chief financial officer.--A Chief Financial Officer
(CFO) will be established for the effective and efficient
management and accountability of Service resources. The CFO
will coordinate budget formulation, execution and agency-wide
financial management operations. To address the Service's
diverse funding sources, the CFO will ensure sound agency-wide
financial management systems and processes. The CFO will ensure
that immigrant services and enforcement operations have clearly
separated and defined resource streams.
(2) Strategic planning and statistical measures.--A
director of the strategy unit will be responsible for policy
formulation, developing the long term-strategy for the Service
and facilitating the process of designing programs to execute
that strategy, in consultation with the offices of Immigrant
Services, Enforcement Operations and Shared Services. This
office will create long-range strategic and performance
measurement plans, in cooperation with relevant program
components. In addition, this office will be responsible for
establishing and strengthening Federal immigration statistical
policy and measurement operations.
(b) The Office of Immigrant Services will be headed by an Executive
Associate Commissioner (EAC), a Senior Executive who will report
directly to the Office of the Commissioner. The EAC will be responsible
for establishing an operational chain of command dedicated solely to
immigration services, focusing comprehensively on providing quality,
timely and efficient services to the immigrant community and
institutions requiring immigrant services. The EAC will be responsible
for all aspects of INS service and benefit operations and the Office of
Immigration Services will be organized around four functional goals:
(1) ensuring timely processing and courteous service of the immigrant
community through nationally-established customer service standards,
(2) providing efficient, accurate benefit processing from remote
service centers and service area operations, (3) ensuring secure
documents with uncompromising integrity, and (4) serving the refugee
and asylee population through humane and timely service and benefits.
Additionally, the EAC is responsible for coordinating, with the Office
of Shared Services, the effective acquisition and utilization of shared
support items including information technology, financial management,
facility construction, personnel and training. The responsibilities and
duties of the EAC shall include:
(1) Service area operations.--Service area operations will
be located in immigrant communities around the United States.
The EAC will develop and maintain performance measures to
ensure that offices within each area provide efficient and
consistent service, while maintaining the integrity of
application processing. These offices will provide a variety of
services to applicants, including fingerprinting,
photographing, and interviewing applicants. Some offices will
be configured as full-service offices and others will serve as
satellite locations. All will have a standard appearance with
customer-oriented features.
(2) Service center operations.--Service center operations
will include centralized automated processing and adjudication
for applications and petitions that do not require immigrant
interviews. In addition, the service centers will provide
front-end fee receipt, data entry and scheduling for
applications and petitions that require interviews. The EAC
will be responsible for the collection of all management
reporting information relative to the service centers, for
budget formulation and execution for the service center
budgets, for ensuring the accuracy and quality control of the
adjudication of benefits at the service centers, for all
employee hiring and grievance issues at the centers and for
monitoring, overseeing and executing the mail file and data
entry operations. The EAC will also coordinate with the CFO on
financial management.
(3) Telephone center operations.--The Service will operate
a coordinated telephone assistance system to respond to
customer inquiries. The EAC will be responsible for designing
and operating a telephone system that relies on all assets of
the Service to ensure that customer inquiries are promptly and
accurately addressed. This will include operating and
maintaining the telephone centers, any contract call-answering
facilities, and utilizing an overflow telephone call assistance
capacity designed to access information officers at the service
centers as needed.
(c) The Office of Enforcement Operations will be headed by an
Executive Associate Commissioner (EAC), a Senior Executive who will
report directly to the Office of the Commissioner. The EAC will be
responsible for establishing an operational chain of command dedicated
solely to immigration enforcement, focusing comprehensively on illegal
immigration problems at the border and in the interior of the U.S., and
ensuring better linkages of enforcement operations through a single
point of accountability for performance. The EAC will be responsible
for all aspects of the Service's enforcement and border management
operations including international enforcement efforts and will be
organized around four functional goals: managing by the Border Patrol
of the border between ports-of-entry; conducting inspections and
managing all port of entry operations; overseeing investigations and
removals; and coordinating and managing detention and enforcement
support. Additionally, the EAC is responsible for coordinating, with
the Office of Shared Services, the effective acquisition and
utilization of shared support items including information technology,
financial management, facility construction, personnel and training.
The responsibilities and duties of the EAC will include:
(1) Border management.--By placing both Border Patrol and
Inspection activities under a single EAC, the Service will be
able to provide seamless border enforcement along the Nation's
borders, and will be better able to coordinate operations with
other Federal and governmental agencies along the border.
(A) The Border Patrol will perform its current
border management and control functions of deterring
illegal immigration and apprehending illegal aliens
between ports of entry. In addition, the Border Patrol
will continue to work with Federal, State and local law
enforcement agencies to effectively administer laws
related to the interdiction of drug trafficking
activities.
(B) Port of Entry management is a key component of
border management due to the interrelationship between
activities at and between land border ports of entry.
The EAC will be operationally responsible for carrying
out these duties in compliance with applicable law and
policy and will be responsible for effectively
monitoring resource utilization and maintaining
accurate performance measures of these activities.
(2) Interior enforcement and removals.--The EAC will be
responsible for consolidating investigations, intelligence and
deportation functions into one coordinated multi-disciplinary
component to focus on illegal alien removals and to vigorously
combat immigration document fraud, smuggling and illegal
employment in the workplace. This consolidated approach will
ensure swift and proper apprehension, incarceration and removal
of those illegally residing and working in this country.
(3) Detention and enforcement support.--The EAC will be
responsible for ensuring logistical coordination for the
incarceration and transportation of criminal and illegal
aliens. The EAC will be responsible for effectively managing
the Service's bed space at both Service-owned and contract
detention facilities. Additionally, the EAC will be responsible
for effectively acquiring bed space from State and local
entities to ensure the Service can detain and transport
individuals it apprehends.
(d) The Office of Shared Services will be headed by an Executive
Associate Commissioner (EAC), a Senior Executive who will report
directly to the Office of the Commissioner. The EAC will be responsible
for establishing an operational chain of command dedicated to meeting
the support requirements for both the enforcement and service
operational components. The EAC will be responsible for the effective
provision of shared administrative and support services to ensure that
each side of the agency has the appropriate administrative and
technological tools to do its jobs in the most effective and cost-
efficient way. The EAC will accomplish this through four functional
goals; establishing and maintaining a records management system that
accurately and efficiently documents immigration status; ensuring
information and enforcement technology enhancements and initiatives are
developed and maintained to operational component specifications;
building and maintaining a superior recruiting, hiring and training
operation to meet Service employment requirements; and building and
managing a Service physical plant to adequately support agency housing
needs. The EAC will also coordinate with the CFO on financial
management. The responsibilities and duties of the EAC will include:
(1) Automation and technology.--The EAC will be responsible
for ensuring that the Service establishes and maintains state-
of-the-art information resources capability to carry out agency
enforcement and service functions. The EAC will be responsible
for deploying and monitoring technology and ensuring that the
Service's workforce operates as effectively as possible with
these tools. The EAC will also establish and promulgate agency-
wide policy relative to the acquisition and deployment of
technology capabilities in coordinating with the operational
components of the Service.
(2) Centralized records management.--The EAC will be
responsible for maintaining a centralized repository for all
Service records and will be responsible for establishing a
greater level of data integrity in existing electronic records
and managing the transition to an electronic records
environment.
(3) Personnel and training.--The EAC will be responsible
for tracking the hiring of all categories of Service personnel
and ensuring that all employees receive proper training in a
timely manner. Specialized training courses and a full spectrum
of basic, advanced, and continuing education will be
established to ensure a professional workforce.
(4) Administrative support.--The EAC will be responsible,
in coordination with the operational components of the Service,
for planning, constructing and renovating all required Service
facilities and equipment, including Border Patrol stations,
detention facilities, Immigrant Services offices and general
support office space. The EAC will also be responsible for
logistics; procurement; and environmental, occupational and
health activities of the Service.
SEC. 102. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
(a) Legal Documents.--All orders, determinations, rules,
regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agreements,
certificates, licenses, and privileges--
(1) that have been issued, made, granted, or allowed to
become effective by the President, the Attorney General, the
Commissioner of the INS, or any other Government official, or
by a court of competent jurisdiction, in the performance of any
function that is transferred; and
(2) that are in effect on the effective date of such
transfer (or become effective after such date pursuant to their
terms as in effect on such effective date); shall continue in
effect according to their terms until modified, terminated,
superseded, set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by the
President, any other authorization official, a court of
competent jurisdiction, or operation of law.
(b) Proceedings.--This Act shall not affect any proceedings
including proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration
Review and any application for any benefits, service, license, permit,
certificate, or financial assistance in pending on the date of the
enactment of this Act before an office whose functions are transferred
by this Act, but such proceedings and applications shall be continued.
Orders shall be issued in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken
therefrom, and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if
this Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such proceeding
shall continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, or
revoked by a duly authorized official, by a court of competent
jurisdiction, or by operation of law. Nothing in this subsection shall
be considered to prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any
such proceeding under the same terms and conditions and to the same
extent that such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if
this Act had not been enacted.
(c) Suits.--This Act shall not affect suits commenced before the
date of the enactment of this Act, and in all such suits, proceedings
shall be had, appeals taken, and judgments rendered in the same manner
and with the same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.
(d) Nonabatement of Actions.--No suit, action, or other proceeding
commenced by or against the Department of Justice or the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, or by or against any individual in the
official capacity of such individual as an officer or employee in
connection with a function transferred by the Act, shall abate by
reason of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Continuance of Suits.--If any Government officer in the
official capacity of such officer is party to a suit with respect to a
function of the officer, and under this Act such function is
transferred to any other officer or office, then such suit shall be
continued with the other officer or the head of such other office, as
applicable, substituted or added as a party.
(f) Administrative Procedure and Judicial Review.--Except as
otherwise provided by this Act, any statutory requirements relating to
notice, hearings, action upon the record, or administrative or judicial
review that apply to any function transferred by this Act shall apply
to the exercise of such function by the head of the office, and other
officers of the office, to which such function is transferred by this
Act.
(g) Department of State.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
preclude or limit in any way the powers, authorities, or duties of
special agents of the Department of State and the Foreign Service under
section 2709 of title 22, United States Code, or of the Secretary of
State under section 4801, et seq. of title 22, United States Code, to
investigate illegal passport or visa issuance or use.
SEC. 103. COMMISSIONER COMPENSATION.
Effective as of the day following the date on which the present
incumbent in the office of the Commissioner ceases to serve as such,
the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service shall
receive compensation at the rate prescribed for level III of the
Federal Executive Salary Schedule (section 5314 of title 5, United
States Code).
TITLE II--CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
SEC. 201. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) Section 103(e)(2) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1103(e)(2), is
amended by striking ``district office of the Service'' and inserting
``designated office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(b) Section 242(b)(3)(A) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section
1252(b)(3)(A), is amended by striking ``Service district'' and
inserting ``designated office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service''.
(c) Section 316 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1427, is amended--
(1) in section (a) by striking ``district of the Service''
and inserting ``area serviced by the designated office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service''; and
(2) in section (f)(1) by striking ``district of the
Service'' and inserting ``area serviced by the designated
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(d) Section 319 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1430, is amended--
(1) in section (a) by striking ``district of the Service''
and inserting ``area serviced by the designated office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service'';
(2) in section (b)(3) by striking ``district of the
Service'' and inserting ``area serviced by the designated
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service'';
(3) in section (c)(5) by striking ``district of the
Service'' and inserting ``area serviced by the designated
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service''; and
(4) in section (d) by striking ``district of the Service''
and inserting ``area serviced by the designated office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(e) Section 324 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1435(a)(1), is amended
by striking ``district of the Service'' and inserting ``area serviced
by the designated office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service''.
(f) Section 328 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1439, is amended--
(1) in section (a) by striking ``district of the Service''
and inserting ``area serviced by the designated office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service'';
(2) in section (b)(1) by striking ``district of the
Service'' and inserting ``area serviced by the designated
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service''; and
(3) in section (c) by striking ``district of the Service''
and inserting ``area serviced by the designated office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(g) Section 329(b)(2) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1440(b)(2), is
amended by striking ``district of the Service'' and inserting ``area
serviced by the designated office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service''.
(h) Section 335(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1446(f), is amended
by striking ``district of the Service'' each time the phrase appears
and inserting ``area serviced by the designated office of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(i) Section 338 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1449, is amended by
striking ``district office of the Service'' and inserting ``designated
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(j) Section 339(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1450(b), is amended
by striking ``district office of the Service'' and inserting
``designated office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service''.
(k) Section 404 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. section 1101, note, is
amended--
(1) in section (b)(2)(A)(i) by striking ``a district
director of the Service'' and inserting ``a designated
Immigration and Naturalization Service officer''; and
(2) in (b)(2)(A)(iii) by striking ``in a district'' and
inserting ``in a designated office of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service''.
<all>