DHS Watch : High Alert, US-VISIT, and ICE Reorganization
Posted May 23, 2003

Latest News from DHS and DOS

On Tuesday May 20, 2003, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Tom Ridge raised the nation's terrorist threat level from yellow (elevated) to orange (high). U.S. intelligence sources evaluate recent events as an indication that al Qaida activity is heightened and could include attempted attacks on the United States.

In a U.S. Department of State (DOS) press briefing, also on Tuesday, spokesman Richard Boucher, noted that, due to concerns that further terrorist attacks are being planned against unspecified targets in Saudi Arabia, the decision was made to close the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulates General in Jeddah and Dhahran from May 21, 2003. At the time of this writing, no decision has been made regarding reopening, but it will not be earlier than Sunday, May 25, 2003, accommodating plans scheduled earlier to close in honor of the Memorial Day holiday.

The Embassy and Consulates are operating on ordered departure status, meaning that family members and non-emergency personnel are departing the country. Those remaining are restricted to essential travel only. At this time, the Embassy and Consulates General in Jeddah and Dhahran continue to provide a full range of consular services to the American community and the public.

US-VISIT

On Monday May 19, 2003, Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson provided further explanation of the US-VISIT program. Earlier in May, Secretary Tom Ridge announced the DHS will meet the Congressional deadline of the end of 2003 for establishing an exit-entry system. To assist them in this goal, the DHS will hire 1,700 new inspectors and hundreds of new Border Patrol Agents. We reported on the initial US-VISIT announcement in our May 9, 2003 MurthyBulletin article, DHS Watch : New Entry-Exit System to Begin, available on MurthyDotCom.

Nuts and Bolts

The goal of US-VISIT is for consular officials to collect, from all U.S. visitors, information including but not limited to: biometric identifiers; immigrant and citizenship statuses; nationalities; countries of residence; and addresses while they are in the United States. Generally, persons who are unable to provide this information will not be permitted entry to the U.S. Biometric identifiers initially will be fingerprints and photographs, but the DHS hopes to expand these to facial recognition and iris scans, as technology and budget permits. The information will be available to inspectors, agents, consular officials, some members of law enforcement, and others "with a true need to know." However, the Under Secretary emphasized that privacy will be considered and that the DHS' Privacy Officer, Nuala O'Connor Kelly, will be monitoring the effort to prevent misuse of the collected data.

One goal of US-VISIT, according to the Under Secretary, is to create a "virtual border" so that the U.S. will know who violates entry requirements, who overstays, and who otherwise violates the terms of his/her stay. The DHS will be overseeing the visa issuance process and will be working with the consular officers of the DOS. By January 1, 2004, a foreign national's travel documents will be scanned and a photograph and fingerprint taken at the Port of Entry. His/Her information then will be checked against lists of those who should be denied entry due to terrorist connections, criminal violations, or past visa violations. Therefore, it is possible that some people who previously had been able to travel freely due to oversights and incomplete information at the Ports of Entry may now be denied entry, once US-VISIT goes into effect. When the foreign national leaves the U.S., the DHS will verify his/her identity and capture the departure information. This information will become a part of the foreign national's ongoing travel record.

Information Review

The DHS expects to obtain massive stores of information through US-VISIT. To process this data, a new Office of Compliance has been created in the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The compliance officers will review all US-VISIT information on visa violations, provide analysis of that data, and send it to the appropriate field enforcement unit for investigation. It is expected that the Office of Compliance will also serve as a clearinghouse for tracking ongoing investigations and their results to meet another US-VISIT goal – to coordinate border information with enforcement and compliance efforts.

Intent of US-VISIT

The Under Secretary asserts that the purpose of US-VISIT is not to play "gotcha." In addition to monitoring potential visa violations, compliance officers will be responsible for ensuring that universities and foreign national students are reasonably familiar with the immigration laws and rules. He further stated that having more information at the POE on every person who enters the U.S. would reduce incidents such as discrimination based on national origin. We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C., applaud these intentions of US-VISIT and hope they continue as the system is implemented and maintained.

Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

On June 9, 2003, ICE will be reorganized into five distinct operational divisions: Investigations, Detention & Removal, Intelligence, Air & Marine Interdiction, and Federal Protective Service. Because ICE is comprised of components of the former INS, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Federal Protective Service, there are currently many redundancies and complex management layers. After the restructuring, which will combine the former Customs and INS intelligence operations into one Intelligence division and the former Customs and INS investigations operations into one Investigations division, ICE anticipates that the streamlined structure will render operations more effective.

Field Level Changes

ICE will also create Special Agents in Charge for ICE Field Investigations. In June, twenty-five veteran law enforcement officers will be designated ICE Interim Special Agents in Charge. These twenty-five will be responsible for directing the ICE investigative operations and resources in one of twenty-five geographic areas throughout the U.S. The Detention and Removal division reporting structures will be aligned with the interim ICE Special Agent in Charge officers, and ICE Field Intelligence Units will be aligned with Interim Special Agent in Charge offices.

Conclusion

As the facets of DHS become more polished in their organization and technological sophistication, MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers will need to be most diligent about dotting their immigration i's and crossing their t's. It is advisable that anyone who is out of status or unlawfully present consult with an immigration attorney immediately to discuss the potential implications of US-VISIT and a more organized ICE. Further, those planning to travel also may wish to consult with an immigration attorney to ensure there are no potential problems awaiting them when they attempt to reenter the U.S.