*EPF313 07/11/01
Text: Bush Administration 2002 Immigration Budget Proposal
(Seeks more border protection, faster action on immigration applications) (780)
The Bush Administration July 10 put forth a budget proposal for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) calling for additional border patrol agents and increased intelligence capabilities at the borders.
The proposal would provide a 10 percent funding increase over the current fiscal year, and is part of a larger five-year plan of reform for INS. In a separate statement, the White House explains its goals to improve the system that welcomes legal immigrants into the United States, while combating illegal immigration.
The 2002 budget proposal would also provide additional funding for the detention and removal process.
The budget proposes $100 million in order to speed processing time for legal naturalization applications as part of a five-year goal to reduce that time period to six months. Such processing can take as long as three years currently.
Following is the text of the White House executive summary:
(begin text)
WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE
July 10, 2001
Executive Summary
The President's Fiscal 2002 Immigration Budget:
Strengthening the Nation's Immigration System
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 budget request for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) totals $5.51 billion, a 10-percent increase over the FY 2001 funding level. This budget includes $380 million in enhancements and provides $123 million in additional funding to the agency's base. The budget adds a total of 1,364 new staff positions, which will allow INS to grow to more than 36,200 positions by the end of FY 2002.
The FY 2002 INS budget supports the goals and strategies that the agency has pursued over the past several years. INS will build on its successful multi-year strategy to effectively regulate the border; deter and dismantle smuggling or trafficking of aliens in the interior of the United States, as well as other immigration-related crime; identify and remove incarcerated criminal aliens from the United States; and reduce immigration benefit fraud and other document abuse. INS will move forward with a broad spectrum of initiatives:
-- The FY 2002 budget increases the level of U.S. Border Patrol agents by 570 to a record level of more than 10,000 agents, more than double the level in FY 1993. This continued expansion is part of the Administration's clear and firm commitment to improving control of the border. The budget increases resources for critical border technology by $20 million and provides nearly $43 million in construction funding to support Border Patrol enforcement efforts. INS will acquire and deploy additional Integrated Surveillance Intelligence Systems along the border for monitoring from remote sites.
-- Supporting the need for both enforcement and facilitation at U.S. air and sea ports of entry, the budget includes 417 airport and seaport Immigration Inspectors, 122 Inspections support personnel, and an additional $70 million in support funding from Immigration Passenger Fees.
-- The budget request includes $6.6 million and 78 positions to expand INS' intelligence capabilities at the borders. The Intelligence program provides strategic and tactical intelligence support to INS officers enforcing immigration laws and assists other Federal agencies in addressing national security issues. These resources would be used to establish anti-smuggling intelligence units that focus on the northern border, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information to enhance border control operations at ports of entry. Resources would also be used to improve intelligence capabilities on the southern border in Arizona where expanded enforcement operations require greater support.
-- In addition to the expansion of INS' more visible enforcement functions, additional funding will strengthen the detention and removal process. To that end, 173 positions and an additional $88.8 million are requested in FY 2002 for detention and removal initiatives that increase detention bed spaces by 1,607 beds, expand national transportation, improve health services for detained aliens, and improve coordination with U.S. Attorneys. Included in the $88.8 million is a projected $40 million in the Breached Bond/Detention Fund revenue, which is anticipated as a result of the reauthorization of Section 245(i) adjustment-of-status program.
-- INS processed more than one million naturalization applications during FY 2000, and plans to continue the quality and timely processing of applications. The FY 2002 budget requests $100 million necessary to implement the first installment of the President's five-year $500 million initiative to process all applications within six months.
-- The INS budget request also supports critical infrastructure requirements. It includes $74.6 million for Border Patrol and detention construction projects. It also includes $6 million for additional work to enhance border infrastructure through projects such as fences, roads, and border barriers.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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