Copland and Brenner

Table of Contents

1. The Month in Review
2. INS Expands The Scope of The Special Registration Program
3. A Request

1. The Month in ReviewThe BIG event grabbing the media’s attention was passage of the Homeland Security Act during the lame duck session of Congress. After returning to Washington, Senator Lott heard the call from his President, and delivered H.R. 5005 to his desk in due course. Amidst much fanfare, the President signed the bill into law on November 25, 2002. In next month’s issue, we will explore some of the more important sections dealing with immigration and national security, or should we now say, national security and immigra- tion?
   
   In our minds, the really important event of the past month was the publication of a new notice in the Federal Register by INS requiring certain males present in the USA before September 10, 2002 to be immediately registered at local INS offices and every year thereafter. The 13 countries listed in the Notice are in addition to the 5 countries designated by INS in a notice published in August.
   
   Meanwhile, out there in the real world, economic and social forces bubbled away in the political cauldron. These events
   
   indicate that immigration issues are not going to go away and that Congress, now that it has given birth to the Homeland Security Act, will soon enact major legislation granting some form of amnesty or “earned legalization” well before the next Presidential slugfest starts.
2. INS Expands The Scope of The Special Registration ProgramFollowing the tragic events of 9/11, the Patriot Act of 2001 mandated that the INS establish a system within three years to track the arrival and departure of all visitors to the USA. Currently, about 35 million people visit the USA each year.
   
   On September 10, 2002, the INS implemented a special program to register the arrival of all males over the age of 16 from the five countries designated as state sponsors of international terrorism: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria. Pursuant to this program, details of which were published in the Federal Register, arriving males are to be fingerprinted, photographed and interrogated about the nature and duration of their trip to the USA.
   
   
   If admitted to the USA, they are to report to a local INS office in 30 days for further interrogation and to bring documents substantiating the nature and purpose of their trip. If their visit lasts more than one year, they are directed to report to a local INS office within ten days of the one year anniversary of their arrival. In addition, if they move or change their address at any time, they are to notify INS within ten days of any such move.
   
   On October 1, 2002, INS published a notice listing designated ports where persons subject to the special registration program are to report to INS in order to have their departure verified.
   
   On November 6, 2002, INS implemented phase II of the special registration program by requiring males over the age of 16 from these five countries who had been inspected and admitted to the USA before September 10, 2002 to be registered. In accordance with the notice published in the Federal Register that day, these males were directed to report to a local INS office if they expect to remain in the USA beyond December 16, 2002. Their registration period commenced on November 15, 2002 and expires on December 6, 2002. They must also comply with the requirements to report to an INS office within ten days of the one year anniversary of their interview and to notify INS of any change of address within ten days.
   
   On November 22, 2002, the INS greatly expanded the scope of the special registration program by including in it males over the age of 16 from thirteen additional countries who had been inspected and admitted to the USA before September 30, 2002 and whose visit was expected to last beyond January 10, 2003. The thirteen additional countries are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunesia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The registration period commenced on December 2, 2002 and expires on January 10, 2003. They must also comply with the requirements to report to an INS office within ten days of the one year anniversary of their interview and to notify INS of any change of address, employment or schooling within ten days.
   
   The following categories of people from these eighteen countries are exempt from registration: females, males under the age of 16, people who entered the USA without being inspected by an INS officer, people who entered the USA on diplomatic visas (A and G), permanent residents, people who have been granted asylum, and most applicants for asylum who had filed before September 10, 2002.
   
   The Federal Register notices state that those people subject to them are also subject to the ongoing registration requirements appear- ing in the INS regulations at 8 CFR Section 264.1(f). This means that anyone who willfully fails to register is subject to deportation and anyone who fails to have his departure verified will be presumed inadmissable on any future attempt to re-enter the USA.
   
   INS has already created a fact filled section on its home page (www.ins.usdoj.gov) with  back-ground information, instructions on how to register and how to obtain the special change of address forms and where to mail them. This section should be consulted daily by everyone from the 18 designated countries or anyone interested in observing how INS implements this special registration program as a precursor to the main event in 2004 when it will attempt to register all 35 million annual visitors to our shores.
   
   On November 22, 2002 INS published a notice in the Federal Register outlining the call in procedures and requirements for for those people in groups 1 and 2. Although it has not yet been published on the INS home page, it should be down loaded from the Federal Register because it gives the latest guidance from INS and includes a series of helpful questions and answers.
   
3. A RequestAs we go to press, Thanksgiving has faded from our memory, Ramadan has just ended, Chanakuh is almost over, Christmas is rapidly approaching, and the New Year is beckoning. In spite of the proximity of these major holidays (or perhaps because of it) our minds are numb to the images and sound bites of ongoing carnage and destruction which bombard us every day. For most of us, they are fleeting images and fading sounds replaced by more of the same as we stumble through our daily lives. At this time, we ask ourselves and our readers to pause, reflect and pray for those whose daily lives are overcome by suffering and injustice and then to reach out, in whatever way you can, and help someone less fortunate than yourself.