About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

24 Refugee Reports 1 (2003)

handle is hein.immigration/refgrpt0024 and id is 1 raw text is: R A News Service of Immigration and Refugee Services of America efugee Reports VOLUME 24, NUMBER 1 k IT As Department of Homeland Security Opens: How Secure are Refugees? On March 1, most immigration functions of the Immi- gration and Naturalization Service (INS) officially trans- ferred to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), bringing an end to an agency that has functioned under the Department of Justice since 1940 and raising many questions, among them: how will the transfer af- fect the U.S. refugee program, which is experiencing an all-time low in the wake of increased security measures introduced after September 11, 2001? This is an inter- esting and important day, David Martin, University of Virginia law professor and former INS general counsel under the Clinton administration, told participants at a February 28 briefing at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). Starting tomorrow, the INS will no longer exist. For over half a century, the INS has been the fed- eral agency with explicit legal authority to implement na- tional immigration policy. The agency has carried out the majority of U.S. immigration services-including natural- ization procedures, asylum adjudications, and refugee ad- judications overseas-and immigration enforcement func- tions, such as border control and interior enforcement of immigration laws. The DHS takeover of the INS and 21 other fed- eral agencies began with the Homeland Security Act, signed into law by the president on November 25, 2002. The same day, the president submitted a Homeland Se- curity Reorganization Plan to Congress. On January 24, 2003, the new department officially came into existence. Secretary Tom Ridge heads up the Department of Home- land Security. His Deputy Secretary is Gordon England. By law, the DHS Secretary has one year (from January 24, 2003) to bring all of the 22 agencies into the new organization. However, most of the component parts will have moved into the new department by March 1, 2003. The new Department of Homeland Security has three stated missions: to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; to reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism; and to minimize the damage from potential attacks and natural disasters. To carry out this mission, the DHS has five major divisions, or directorates-Bor- der and Transportation Services, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, Information Analy- sis and Infrastructure Protection, and Management-and a separate Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Ser- vices. The DHS brings together 22 agencies and depart- ments -including the INS, Secret Service, Bureau of Al- cohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Customs Service, the Coast Guard, and FEMA-and will employ roughly 200,000 people. Under the new department, the INS will be split into three separate agencies: the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Bureau of Immigration and Lead Story Alyson Springer and Kate Hilton-Hayward report on the transfer of the INS to the Department of Homeland Security ............................... 1 Charts Department of Homeland Security ............................... 3 Immigration Services under the DHS .......................... 5 Recent Developments Omnibus bill sets refugee funding for FY 2003 ............ 8 UNHCR faces budget crisis ........................................... 9 Box Funding Crisis: Real Impact on Refugees ................ 10 Updates ..................................................... 12 Resources ................................................. 13 Job Board ................................................. 14 Statistics Origin of Asylum Seekers in 2002 ............................... 16 S IN THIS ISSUE: I_ I JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003 AA--

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most