Inspectors Need Training on Immigration Complexities
Posted Jun 27, 2003

While attending the AILA national conference on U.S. immigration law in New Orleans, LA, from June 18 through June 22, 2003, we gleaned useful and updated information to share with our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers. Several attorneys from The Law Office of Sheela Murthy attended the conference and were in the company of senior officials from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), also participating in the conferences. These officials, who are instrumental in shaping the guiding principals and procedures within the agencies, shared their insight into policies and practical considerations of their respective agencies with those attending the conference.

One important point that was raised concerned the training of immigration inspectors at Ports of Entry. Today, many U.S. airports, seaports, and land ports (ports of entry or POE) are staffed by prior customs inspectors. Logically, many of the employees now acting as immigration inspectors are former U.S. Customs employees. Accordingly, they are undoubtedly well versed in customs issues, but less familiar with immigration issues. For this reason, they do not always have full knowledge even with respect to issues that have been well established in the law and in Legacy INS policy memos. As a result of this lack of knowledge, more people are being referred to secondary inspection incorrectly, when the matter could be simply resolved at the immigration counter in primary inspection.

For those not familiar with the terms, "secondary inspection" is where the applicant seeking admission or entry into the U.S. is sent to a separate room to wait while a supervisor or other trained immigration inspector reviews his or her documents to see if the person is eligible to legally enter the U.S. Sometimes, the wait in secondary inspection could be several hours, though often it is a couple of hours. In addition, it is common to see certain immigrants in chains or handcuffs sitting in the waiting area in secondary inspection who will be taken into mandatory detention or kept overnight in detention while awaiting the next flight. All of this can be disturbing or disconcerting to a tourist, business person, or professional unaccustomed to the U.S. immigration system.

According to Michael Cronin, the Associate Commissioner of Immigration Policy and Programs in the CBP Office of Field Operations, who spoke at the 2003 Conference last week, the secondary inspectors are experienced Port of Entry Officers, familiar with U.S. immigration law concepts. Accordingly, they should be able to address those issues with which the primary inspectors are unfamiliar. They can respond and effectively deal with legitimate travelers without further incident. Should the secondary inspectors need assistance, they can confer with the Interim Port Directors or their backups, the Watch Commanders in Charge, who, between them, are available twenty-four hours a day. However, the inexperience of the frontline port of entry inspectors may cause a great deal of anxiety and at least some delay to those who would not face these problems if an experienced inspector were available.

The goal of the CBP is to present "one face at the border," including the implementation of a unified primary processing procedure by 2004. Over time, we believe that this problem will self-correct as the CBP continues to focus on communication and training to resolve these issues. In the interim, we ask our MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers to be polite and patient, as the inspector's job is not easy. They cannot be expected to be familiar with the nuances of each possible nonimmigrant and immigrant category. We also recommend readers be prepared with proper entry documents, documentation, and legal advice.

Since implementation of these post-9/11 changes, persons traveling abroad and seeking reentry to the U.S. should be advised by qualified immigration attorneys as to the types of documentation needed for travel and reentry. It is also a good idea to carry a travel packet containing documents which set forth the legal eligibility of the person to enter the U.S., especially in cases for which the inspector may need clarification and edification due to recent changes in laws or policies. Although travel packets can be expensive to prepare since they have to be customized for each person, often such documents will save time, money, and headache for travelers.