WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) welcomed passage of long
overdue legislation by the House to overhaul the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) as a first step towards ensuring security and improving service.
“The
INS has long been a dysfunctional agency causing thousands of constituents
in my immigrant-rich district needless headaches and heartbreaks.
While this bill is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction and
it contains remedies that are long overdue,” said Schakowsky.
The
Barbara Jordan Immigration Reform and Accountability Act (H.R. 3231) would:
-
abolish
the INS and replace it with an Office of the Associate Attorney General
for Immigration Affairs (OAAGIA) in the Justice Department. The Associate
Attorney General for Immigration Affairs would be appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate;
-
create
two separate bureaus for service and enforcement - the Bureau of Citizenship
and Immigration Services and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement - within
the OAAGIA . The Associate Attorney General would oversee and supervise
the work of the directors of the service and enforcement bureaus;
-
establish
a general counsel within the OAAGIA as the principal legal advisor of the
Associate Attorney General, to provide legal advice on all legal matters
affecting the OAAGIA and the two bureaus; and
-
establish
an Office of Children's Affairs in the OAAGIA with a director to coordinate
and implement law and policy for unaccompanied alien children.
Schakowsky,
who was successful in bringing about positive change after exposing INS
mismanagement and mistreatment of customers in Chicago in 1999, said that
she is hopeful that the Senate would address the shortcomings of the House
bill to ensure that the service and enforcement functions of the immigration
policy are equally served. Among her concerns: strengthening the
ombudsman provisions, that fees are reasonable and used to improve the
quality of service, and ensuring that children, who arrive at this nation
alone, and that asylum seekers are treated fairly.
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