Immigration Laws and Policies Since the (1980s) - Homeland Security Act Of 2002

On November 25, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (PL 107-296), a document totaling nearly five hundred pages that represented the largest restructuring of the government in several decades. The Homeland Security Act created the cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "The department will gather and focus all our efforts to face the challenge of cyberterrorism, and the even worse danger of nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism," President Bush said in announcing the signing of the document ("Remarks by the President at the Signing of H.R. 5005 The Homeland Security Act of 2002," The White House, November 25, 2002). The DHS consolidated the functions of more than twenty federal agencies into one department employing over 170,000 people. One of the affected agencies was the INS.

INS Reorganization

Title IV, Section 402 of the Homeland Security Act transferred the responsibilities of the INS from the Department of Justice to the DHS. With the goal of separating immigration services from immigration law enforcement, on March 1, 2003, the INS became the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), responsible for processing visas and petitions for naturalization, asylum, and refugee status. Immigration enforcement became the responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (called the Bureau of Border Security in the act).

Border Security

Section 402 of the Homeland Security Act outlined the responsibilities of the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security. These included:

• Preventing the entry of terrorists and the instruments of terrorism into the United States
• Securing the borders, territorial waters, ports, terminals, waterways, and air, land, and sea transportation systems of the United States
• Administering the immigration and naturalization laws of the United States, including the establishment of rules governing the granting of visas and other forms of permission to enter the United States to individuals who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents
• Administering the customs laws of the United States
• Ensuring the speedy, orderly, and efficient flow of lawful traffic and commerce in carrying out these responsibilities