FY2002 Budget Summary

Inspections

INS requests 283 positions, 142 workyears, and $19,927,000 for additional Immigration Inspectors at new and renovated airport terminals, as well as at high growth airports. Current construction at international airports will increase the number of international gates and primary inspection booths. With the anticipated increase in international travelers at each location, INS will require additional inspectors in order to process all passengers within the statutory requirement of 45 minutes.

2. Passenger Analysis Units

INS requests 60 positions, 30 workyears, and $4,510,000 for additional Immigration Inspectors to staff passenger analysis units at airports. These units are a joint INS/U.S. Customs initiative that analyze traveler information in advance of plane arrivals in order to identify inadmissible aliens, including criminal aliens, drug traffickers, and terrorists. These units will review passenger listings prior to the plane's arrival and will place lookouts in the computer systems, so that inadmissible aliens can be intercepted during primary inspection.

3. Administrative Assistance for Inspections

INS requests 97 positions, 48 workyears, and $4,144,000 for additional inspection assistants and clerks to perform ancillary, inspection functions at medium and large airports. These functions include assisting passengers with forms, taking photographs and fingerprints, mailing and logging immigrant visas, and conducting record and database searches. This increase in support staff will allow inspectors, currently assigned to these functions, to return to their primary mission.

4. Detention and Removals

INS requests 15 positions, 8 workyears, and $6,512,000 for 7 Detention Enforcement Officers, 3 Deportation Officers, 5 Docket Clerks, and 200 additional detention beds. These resources will support the significant increases in projected workloads at high growth airports.

5. Automated Entry/Exit System

INS requests $14,370,000 for the initial investment in an automated entry/exit system at airports. On June 15, 2000, the INS Data Management Improvement Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-215) was enacted. This Act amends Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act to require the development of an integrated entry and exit data system that would use available data to record alien arrivals and departures in an electronic format, without establishing additional documentary requirements. The implemented system will fully automate the I-94 process, increase data integrity, and maintain departure control data.

6. Carrier Consultant Program

INS requests $6,300,000 for the Carrier Consultant Program. This funding will strengthen INS' ability to support carrier training requirements, improve communication with the carriers, and reduce illegal migration. Training initiatives will be targeted to high-risk carriers and focus on questions of admissibility, fraud deterrence, and carrier responsibilities as they relate to U.S. immigration laws. With this funding, INS will also conduct a feasibility study on the development of a Carrier Response Center. This project is in response to an industry request for a single authoritative link, available to airline personnel, on issues of entry requirements, anti-fraud, document identification, and immigration law. INS will also use this funding for the publication and distribution of intelligence alerts.

7. 2002 Winter Olympics

INS requests $1,000,000 for the increased inspections volume related to the 2002 Winter Olympics. This funding will provide the necessary overtime, staff details (travel and per diem), and equipment associated with inspection services for arriving foreign participants, their family members, and visitors.

8. Information Technology Initiatives

INS requests $6,425,000 for information technology initiatives pertaining to airport inspections. INS is requesting $3,200,000 for the National Automated Inspections Lookout System (NAILS); $2,000,000 to study alternative technology that would streamline airport inspections; $800,000 for the expansion of Inspections Traveler Examination (INTEX); and $425,000 to purchase additional Live Scan Devices that would send electronic fingerprint submissions to the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

9. Legal Proceedings

INS requests 4 positions, 2 workyears, and $263,000 to support the increased immigration inspector staffing. Three attorneys and one legal assistant are needed to address the growing workload that will be generated by these additional inspectors.

1. Additional Inspectors at Seaports

INS requests 54 positions, 27 workyears, and $4,153,000 for additional Immigration Inspectors at newly activated seaport terminals and current terminals that are understaffed due to the growth in the cruise ship industry.

2. Passenger Analysis Units

INS requests 20 positions, 10 workyears, and $2,273,000 for additional Immigration Inspectors to staff passenger analysis units at seaports. These units are a joint INS/U.S. Customs initiative that analyze traveler information in advance of ship arrivals in order to identify inadmissible aliens, including criminal aliens, drug traffickers, and terrorists. These units will review passenger listings prior to the ship's arrival and will place lookouts in the computer systems, so that inadmissible aliens can be intercepted during primary inspection.

3. Administrative Assistance for Inspections

INS requests 25 positions, 12 workyears, and $1,069,000 for additional inspection assistants and clerks to perform ancillary, inspection functions at seaports. These functions include assisting passengers with forms, taking photographs and fingerprints, mailing and logging immigrant visas, and conducting record and database searches. This increase in support staff will allow inspectors, currently assigned to these functions, to return to their primary mission.

4. Information Technology Initiatives

INS requests $5,545,000 for information technology initiatives pertaining to seaport inspections. INS is requesting $2,330,000 for the Automated Entry/Exit System; $1,800,000 for the Vessel Inspection Processing System; $1,180,000 for portable workstations that access NAILS; and $235,000 to upgrade NAILS.