WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- The House Judiciary Committee Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to split the embattled Immigration and Naturalization Service into two separate agencies.
The INS has been under heavy criticism for failing to prohibit the entry of Sept. 11 hijackers into the United States and subsequently approving two of the hijackers visa requests six months after the attacks.
The legislation would form two separate agencies: one to provide immigration services and the other to concentrate on enforcement of immigration law. It was determined after the Sept. 11 attacks -- which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania -- that three of the 19 hijackers had overstayed their visas. The approval of the change in visa status earlier this month further infuriated lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the president.
The committee voted 32 to 2 to approve the legislation -- sponsored by committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. -- with two Democrats refusing to approve the bill, saying they did not think it would offer much reform. The administration has said that it does not believe new legislation is necessary and INS Commissioner James Ziglar has said he will pursue internal reforms. But President Bush has also expressed support for splitting the agency in two.
The bill could receive full House consideration within the next month. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee, has said that he will introduce an INS reform measure in the Senate later in the session. He has also said that this bill will attempt to separate the enforcement and record-keeping aspects of the agency.
