Update: 04/25/02 - The House of Representative by a 405-9 vote has passed the bill H.R. 3231, dismantling the Immigration and Naturalization service and splitting it into a new agency and two bureaus. The bill must now be considered by the Senate. Earlier today President Bush has announced supported bill.

Dateline: 04/24/02

The House Judiciary Committee has voted 32-2 to recommend a bill doing away with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Approving student visas for two Sept. 11 hijackers -- six months after the attacks -- may have been the last straw for lawmakers.

"We in Congress have sat back and watched the most bumbling, stumbling agency in all the land screw up case after case with no consequence to itself," said U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida), whose 16th Florida district is home to the flight school where two Sept. 11 hijackers received flight training.

In its oversight hearing on "Restructuring the INS–How the Agency’s Dysfunctional Structure Impedes the Performance of its Dual Mission," the Judiciary Committee heard testimony from five witnesses, including INS director James Ziglar, Richard Gallo, Susan Martin, Lawrence Gonzalez and Dan Stein. (Click on a witness to read their testimony.)

About the Bill
The bill H.R. 3231, originally titled "The Immigration Reform and Accountability Act of 2001" was renamed "The Barbara Jordan Immigration Reform and Accountability Act" by the Judiciary Committee. The late Congresswoman from Texas had chaired a commission that recommended changes within the INS in 1975.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is the sponsor of the bill H.R. 3231, which currently has 46 cosponsors.

The bill has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee and cleared for consideration by the whole House. The Judiciary Committee's report on the bill, H. Report 107-413, can be viewed here.

What the Bill Would Do
H.R. 3231 would replace the 69-year old INS with a new Agency for Immigration Affairs under the Department of Justice and headed by an "immigration czar" with an official title of Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs. Operating under the Agency or Immigration Affairs, two major new bureaus would be established to take over the task areas now performed solely by the INS.

• The new Bureau of Immigration Services and Adjudications would take over administrative and record keeping functions.
• Enforcement would become the duty of a Bureau of Immigration Enforcement.

During its hearings on H.R. 3231, the Judiciary Committee cited poor record keeping leading to a "bureaucratic mess" as a primary problem within the INS. According to chairman Sensenbrenner, a backlog of nearly 5 million visa and immigration status change requests remained unprocessed by the INS at the end of Oct. 2001.

The bill H.R. 3231 (as amended by the House Judiciary Committee) would also:

• Provide funding for the INS transition by establishing a Treasury the Immigration Reorganization Transition Account.
• Direct the Attorney General to: (1) establish an Internet-based system for accessing Immigration and Nationality Act benefit filings; (2) conduct a feasibility study of online filing and improved processing; and (3) establish a Technology Advisory Committee.
• Authorize expenditure of federal funds to cover fees for refugees and asylum seekers.
• Order a study on how the government could best deal with refugee emergencies.

The Future of the Bill
While H.R. 3231 is expected to pass in the House, its future in the politically-split Senate remains uncertain. Even if approved in the Senate, a conference committee will almost certainly be required to reconcile differences with the House version of the bill.