Immigration and Border Protection

Running Head: Immigration and Border Protection 1 Immigration and Border Protection of Department of Homeland Security Donald Capak Keiser University Immigration and Border Protection 2 Abstract It is my belief that the dissolution of the former U. S. Immigration and Naturalization and Customs Service and the creation of separate agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was sound political decision.It is my belief that it was also a move to show the American people that the government was making attempts to help strengthen our security. In the next few pages of this assignment I will attempt to explain my decision to this question backed by research and information supporting me. I will discuss how the newly formed U. S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement was a step in the right direction to provide U. S. citizens with a sense of safety and security. I will primary focus on these two agencies, their details and what agencies they rep laced. Keywords: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization and Customs Service, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration, Customs Enforcement Immigration and Border Protection 3 Immigration and Border Protection Of Department of Homeland Security Before the events on September 11th all immigration policy and enforcement was handled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) under the Department of Justice. However once the Department of Homeland Security was created, the INS was absorbed and broken down into seperate offices.Two of these offices include the U. S. Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration and Customs enforcement is responsible for enforcing immigration laws within the United States. Immigration and customs enforcement is similar except they are aimed at enforcing the laws at points of entry into the United States. In the next few pages of this assignment I will give an overview of b oth the U. S. Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs enforcement, explaining what they do and how their creation was a benefit to the United States.The U. S. Customs and Border Protection’s responsibilities include protecting the nation’s borders and ensuring that people and cargo arrive on U. S. soil both safety and legally. They protect American citizens from weapons of mass destruction, illegal animals and plants and even contraband. Their purpose is to detect threats before they reach the U. S. in attempts to avert disasters (Jane Bullock, George Haddow, Damon Coppola, Sarp Yeletaysi , 2009). Their numbers are upwards of 53,000 both stateside and overseas. (Who We are. Retrieved from http://www. cbp. ov/xp/cgov/careers/customs_careers/we_are_cbp. xml). On March 1st, 2003 the CBP became an official part of the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration and Border Protection 4This move, led by former commission Robert Bonner, combined employe es from the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and the United States Customs Service. (US Customs and Border Protection. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/U. S. Customs_and_Border_Protection#U. S. _Customs_Service. ). This move was critical to the U. S. defense against foreign attack. Not only did this move reorganize three different organizations into one, but it also established a more unified system. This in turn helped communication and response to threats. With a single organization, instead of two or three, it helped keep the focus on the primary goal; there would be no more varying paths. It was basically unified under one leadership. Another reason that this was done was because the Customs and Border Protection was in need of a serious overhaul.Originally the Immigration and Naturalization Service received its roots after the American Civil war. Many states began passing their own laws regarding immi gration, the federal government saw this as a problem and passed the Immigration Act of 1891, making immigration a federal manner. (2010, Immigration and Naturalization Service. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/U. S. _Customs_and_Border_Protection#U. S. _Customs_Service. ) In the early 1900’s immigration laws started becoming stricter to help protect U. S. citizens and their wages. Laws in 1921 and 1924 began limiting the amount of Immigrants entering the U.S. based on quotas. In 1940, President Roosevelt transferred the INS to the department of Justice where it would remain for the next forty three years. (2010, Immigration and Naturalization Service. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/U. S. _Customs_and_Border_Protection#U. S. _Customs_Service. ). Immigration and Border Protection 5 So as one can see, the INS was a fairly outdated system, primary used to limit Immigration and protect citizens from the problems of that era.Instead of performing an ove rhaul, like in 2003, they added organizations to it in attempts to cope with the changing times. This was ineffective and primitive. It caused for confusion amongst the different divisions leaders and made for very poor communication. Using these facts, it is my belief that the decision to create the U. S. Borders and Customs Protection was a wise and valuable decision in securing U. S. citizens from harm. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the largest investigate arm of the DHS. (Bullock et al. 2010). This division, also known simply as ICE, is responsible for investigating and removing threats to the U.S. Employees of ICE, an estimated 15,000 strong, investigate and enforce over 400 federal statutes within the U. S. and maintain communication with overseas embassies. They also have one the broadest investigative authorities of any federal agency. (2010, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/U. S. _Immigration_and_Customs_Enfor cement. ) Much like the US Borders and Customs Protection, the Immigration and Customs enforcement was created after the event’s of 9/11 and following the creation of the DHS. The creation of ICE was also similar in that it combined