'New' INS Needs Tools to Enforce Immigration Laws, Congressman Says
by Chad Groening and Jody Brown
June 23, 2004
(AgapePress) - One of the leading advocates for immigration reform in the U.S. Congress doesn't think much has changed since the reorganization of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.The INS, now called the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), falls under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security headed up by Secretary Tom Ridge. BICE is the largest investigative arm of the Department and claims to have developed a "comprehensive and aggressive strategy" that is designed to do two things: restore integrity to the nation's immigration system, and combat terrorists and criminals who have exploited weaknesses in border security with the intent to enter and remain in the U.S.
Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, a long-time proponent of immigration reform, is chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. He maintains that since the reorganization effort by Ridge and the Bush Administration, BICE has not received sufficient resources to conduct "internal enforcement," for example.
"They are not increasing the number of people who are assigned the task of [going] after employers who are breaking the law by hiring illegal employees," Tancredo says. "[And] they are certainly not trying to add any military component to the Border Patrol." In a December 2003 interview with Front Page magazine, the lawmaker noted that the Border Patrol is charged with trying to stop a flood of illegal immigrants, but has "been given a sieve in order to do so."
Tancredo says it is one thing to create a brand-new agency -- but unless that agency is given the tools necessary to do the job, "all you have done is change the nameplate on the door."
The Colorado Republican was highly critical of comments attributed to a BICE agent and a U.S. congressman in late April who publicly reassured illegal aliens in Texas that there were no plans to enforce federal immigration laws anytime soon. Tancredo called it "mind boggling" that such a public statement was made by federal authorities, and urged President Bush to appropriately discipline the BICE agent.
