September 11th changed the way we all think about national security. Not only do we have to be concerned with making sure our military has the resources they need to engage in combat, but we must also shore up many other U.S. government agencies to prevent attacks on our own soil.

President George W. Bush and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge have implemented many changes and they have taken numerous precautions in the last seven months to drastically reduce the chance of another attack. However, there is one more thing that needs to be done - we must overhaul the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to keep people from other countries that wish us harm out of the USA.

Legislation that revamps the INS has gained tremendous support since September 11th. Citizens as well as legislators want to know how these terrorists got into our country. The INS continues to make serious mistakes that illustrate the need for reform. Six months AFTER the attacks, INS officials mailed approval notifications to two of the September 11th hijackers that their visa status had been changed. This is an outrageous error!

Restructuring the INS is not a new idea. Since 1979 the agency has been internally reorganized nine times and its budget has almost tripled over the last decade. A 1997 Commission on Immigration Reform, headed by former Congresswoman Barbara Jordon, reported that the problem with the INS was not due to lack of funding or internal structuring. The INS is suffering from "mission overload." Many problems have occurred because ONE agency is expected to enforce our nation's immigration laws AND process the paperwork for folks hoping to enter the U.S. Increased border security calls for extensive law enforcement training, which takes away from available resources to provide services to legal aliens. Congress must intervene to fully modernize and streamline the INS.

This week in the House of Representatives I voted in favor of the Barbara Jordon Immigration Reform and Accountability Act (H.R. 3231). This is the first major legislation since September 11th that specifically addresses this major problem in the INS. This legislation includes the following provisions:

• Divide the organization into two, independent bureaus - the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement (BIE).
• BCIS will concentrate on improving immigration services and reducing adjudication backlogs for legal immigrants.
• BIE will deny admission to aliens who should be kept out of the U.S., while apprehending and removing deportable aliens along the border and interior.
• Creates an Associate Attorney General in the Department of Justice whose function is to handle immigration affairs.
• Requires Internet-based technologies to track immigration applications and eventually permits applicants to file applications on-line.

By radically changing the way the INS functions, the backlog for folks that "play by the rules" will be reduced and we will have increased security and better identification of all people who enter our borders.

Homeland security has many facets. But a key to getting at the root of the problem is INS reform. This legislation is a step in the right direction in continuing our fight in the War on Terrorism.