Homeland Security

DATE=3-21-2003

TYPE=Special English Feature

NUMBER=7-28582

TITLE=SPECIAL ENGLISH AMERICAN MOSAIC #915- INS

BYLINE=Nancy Steinbach

TELEPHONE=619-2585

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Shelley Gollust

CONTENT=

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from the United Arab Emirates. Samatar Abdi Hirsi asks about the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service also known as the I-N-S.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service was responsible for helping foreigners who enter the country legally and for removing those who enter illegally.

But the I-N-S no longer exists. On March first, its job of helping immigrants was moved to the new Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services within the new Department of Homeland Security.

Government officials say that the creation of a new agency that helps immigrants is designed to increase the quality of services for foreigners who are in the United States legally. The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services is known as the B-C-I-S. About fifteen-thousand people work there. Its director reports to the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security.

B-C-I-S services include helping refugees seeking asylum, supervising people who become American citizens and providing employment documents for foreigners in the United States.

Most of the other services that were provided by the I-N-S will be carried out by two new agencies in the Department of Homeland Security. One is the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This agency brings together about fourteen-thousand workers. These include investigators and law enforcement officials of the I-N-S, Customs Service and Federal Protective Services. This agency was designed to strengthen law enforcement by uniting investigation work that had been done by several agencies.

The other new agency is the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. Its thirty-thousand workers include agricultural inspectors and inspectors from the I-N-S, Customs Service and Border Patrol. This bureau will supervise the movement of goods and people across the nation's borders. It will guarantee the inspection of goods and enforce border laws.