DHS Watch : Stability Promised for Now
Posted Feb 21, 2003

In an effort to dispel any rumors, the INS Community Affairs Office (CAO), recently clarified that INS addresses and forms will not all change on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) transition date of March 3, 2003. [The transition date is, technically, Saturday March 1, 2003. The first work day after that date will be Monday, March 3, 2003.]

BCIS Continues Using INS Staff and Functions

This news applies to all services to be provided by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), the new organization responsible for all immigration benefits. All INS district offices, application support centers, service centers, and asylum offices will remain open at this time. This policy is consistent with a provision in the legislation that created DHS, stipulating that all jobs existing in the current agencies cannot be eliminated for one year following the transition date of March 1, 2003.

BCIS to Recognize INS Forms

Further, the BCIS will continue to accept the same forms and all agencies are expected to recognize the various INS based documents or forms. Specifically, I-551s or “green cards” as evidence of lawful permanent resident status, certificates of citizenship, employment authorization documents (EADs), travel and advance parole documents, and Form I-94s as valid evidence of a person's immigration status in the U.S. The other INS functions that are not in BCIS will be interior enforcement in the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) and border enforcement in the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP). It is unclear from the CAO's advisory whether these bureaus will continue to be physically located in the same buildings as the BCIS.

High Security Alert Measures

As indicated in last week's MurthyBulletin article, DHS Watch: Budget, Appointment, Alert Levels, and Meetings available on MurthyDotCom, the DHS has determined that our security alert level is high. As predicted, immigration inspectors have been instructed to question people more closely as they cross the land borders or enter through International Airports. In addition, the DHS has instructed the inspectors to scrutinize travel documents even more carefully. As a further measure, the Border Patrol's Special Response and Border Search and Rescue teams have been placed on standby and will deploy in response to specific threats.

Cyberspace and Infrastructure Security

Finally, on Friday, February 14, 2003, President Bush and Secretary Ridge announced two more homeland security strategies. The first is the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. This plan includes efforts led by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to coordinate international efforts in cyber security. The second is the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets. The DHS hopes to secure the infrastructures and assets vital to our national security, governance, public health and safety, economy, and national morale. While these are admirable goals, unduly restrictive immigration policies would be a hardship for U.S. businesses, members of the workforce, and valuable members of our immigrant and local communities.