Ins Detention Facilities

Organizational Structure

The INS, which in 2003 was merged into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a bureau of the Department of Homeland Security, until recently operated within the U.S. Department of Justice. Its primary responsibility is enforcing the laws regulating the admission of foreign-born persons (i.e., aliens) to the United States and for administering various immigration benefits, including the naturalization of qualified applicants for U.S. citizenship. The INS also cooperates with the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the United Nations in the admission and resettlement of refugees.

The operational and management functions of INS are administered through INS headquarters in Washington, D.C., that oversees approximately 29,000 employees through three regional offices and the headquarters-based Office of International Affairs. These offices are responsible for directing the activities of 33 districts and 21 Border Patrol sectors throughout the United States and three district offices and 39 area offices outside U.S. territory. INS field offices provide direct service to applicants for benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act and implement INS policies to carry out statutory enforcement responsibilities in their respective geographic areas. Overseas offices, in addition, serve as important information channels between INS and U.S. Foreign Service officers and foreign government officials abroad. As its mission suggests, the INS is a unique agency because it has the duty both to enforce the law and to provide services to immigrants. The combination of these activities creates considerable strain for INS personnel as well as their clients.

Due in large part to problems caused by this dual mandate, the INS remained one of the most criticized agencies in the federal government. Specifically, it was often challenged over its controversial enforcement tactics and its difficulty to deliver services efficiently.

Increased Funding

At a time when Congress was cutting federal spending in the 1990s, it funneled increasingly greater funds and resources to the INS, making it the largest federal law enforcement agency. Between [Page 477]1993 and 2001, the INS budget soared by more than 230% from $1.5 billion to $5.0 billion. During that period, spending for enforcement programs grew from $933 million to $3.1 billion, nearly five times as much as spending for citizenship and other immigrant services, which increased from $261 million to $679 million. The cost of shared support for the two missions increased from $525 million in 1993 to $1.1 billion in 2001. The INS also increased its full-time, permanent staff by 79% from 1993 (17,163) to 2001 (30,701). Most of that growth occurred in the enforcement programs, where the total number of employees, including officers, grew from 11,418 to 23,364. Border Patrol led the way with an increase of 7,962 employees or 159%. In addition, the agency designated funds to expand its detention sector.

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