Aliens

Since the September 11th attacks, reforms in the immigration system have sought to accomplish two broad, yet competing, goals. On the one hand, many of the new laws relating to aliens have sought to accelerate the processes pertaining to the citizenship and naturalization benefits. The former INS was heavily criticized for its inefficiency in carrying out the provisions of the IRA, and the new agencies that replaced the INS have been charged with the responsibility of improving this system.

On the other hand, the new laws have sought to improve immigration procedures to identify potential terrorists and other illegal aliens. The first statute among several that enhanced law enforcement procedures for dealing with terror-ist attacks was the USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-56, 115 Stat. 272. This legislation and subsequent revisions through statute and regulation have sought to improve procedures for identifying known terrorists and suspected criminals at the various ports of entry.

The dual concerns of immigration policy—that is, expediting the applications of aliens who wish to enter the United States lawfully versus the protection of the country from those who wish to inflict harm—were also present when the INS possessed powers both to implement immigration services and to enforce the immigration policies. The extensive background checks of aliens caused a backlog of applications, slowing the process that was perceived to be inaccurate and inefficient even prior to the attacks. Processing of immigrant applications took as long as three years in some cases. The administration of President GEORGE W. BUSHhas sought to mandate a six-month standard for the processing of these applications.

The detention of aliens under the new laws has also caused concerns about the protection of the CIVIL RIGHTS of legal aliens. In the months that followed the September 11th attacks, thousands of suspect aliens were detained by the INS and

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sparked many changes within the immigration system. Nonimmigrant alien men from 13—predominantly Middle East—nations were required to register with the government or face deportation. Men line up outside of an Immigration and Naturalization Service office in Detroit, Michigan, on January 10, 2003, the deadline for registration.
AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS

officials of the JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. Nevertheless, protection of U.S. citizens and land within the country has been a primary concern under the Bush administration, and many observers have noted that improved screening of aliens could have prevented the terrorist attacks in 2001.