INA: ACT 103 - POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE
COMMISSIONER

Sec. 103. \[8 U.S.C. 1103\] (a)(1) The Attorney General shall be charged
with the administration and enforcement of this Act and all other laws
relating to the immigration and naturalization of aliens, except insofar
as this Act or such laws relate to the powers, functions, and duties
conferred upon the President, the Secretary of State, the officers of
the Department of State, or diplomatic or consular officers: Provided,
however, That determination and ruling by the Attorney General with
respect to all questions of law shall be controlling.

\(2\) He shall have control, direction, and supervision of all employees
and of all the files and records of the Service.

\(3\) He shall establish such regulations; prescribe such forms of bond,
reports, entries, and other papers; issue such instructions; and perform
such other acts as he deems necessary for carrying out his authority
under the provisions of this Act.

\(4\) He may require or authorize any employee of the Service or the
Department of Justice to perform or exercise any of the powers,
privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this Act or regulations
issued thereunder upon any other employee of the Service.

\(5\) He shall have the power and duty to control and guard the
boundaries and borders of the United States against the illegal entry of
aliens and shall, in his discretion, appoint for that purpose such
number of employees of the Service as to him shall appear necessary and
proper.

\(6\) He is authorized to confer or impose upon any employee of the
United States, with the consent of the head of the Department or other
independent establishment under whose jurisdiction the employee is
serving, any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed
by this Act or regulations issued thereunder upon officers or employees
of the Service.

\(7\) He may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, establish
offices of the Service in foreign countries; and, after consultation
with the Secretary of State, he may, whenever in his judgment such
action may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act, detail
employees of the Service for duty in foreign countries.

\(8\) 9/ After consultation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney
General may authorize officers of a foreign country to be stationed at
preclearance facilities in the United States for the purpose of ensuring
that persons traveling from or through the United States to that foreign
country comply with that country's immigration and related laws. 3/

\(9\) 9/ Those officers may exercise such authority and perform such
duties as United States immigration officers are authorized to exercise
and perform in that foreign country under reciprocal agreement, and they
shall enjoy such reasonable privileges and immunities necessary for the
performance of their duties as the government of their country extends
to United States immigration officers. 3/

\(10\) 1/ 9/ In the event the Attorney General determines that an actual
or imminent mass influx of aliens arriving off the coast of the United
States, or near a land border, presents urgent circumstances requiring
an immediate Federal response, the Attorney General may authorize any
State or local law enforcement officer, with the consent of the head of
the department, agency, or establishment under whose jurisdiction the
individual is serving, to perform or exercise any of the powers,
privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this Act or regulations
issued thereunder upon officers or employees of the Service.

\(11\) 2/ 9/ The Attorney General, in support of persons in
administrative detention in non-Federal institutions, is authorized-

\(A\) to make payments from funds appropriated for the administration
and enforcement of the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, and
alien registration for necessary clothing, medical care, necessary guard
hire, and the housing, care, and security of persons detained by the
Service pursuant to Federal law under an agreement with a State or
political subdivision of a State; and

\(B\) to enter into a cooperative agreement with any State, territory,
or political subdivision thereof, for the necessary construction,
physical renovation, acquisition of equipment, supplies or materials
required to establish acceptable conditions of confinement and detention
services in any State or unit of local government which agrees to
provide guaranteed bed space for persons detained by the Service.

\(b\) 4/ (1) The Attorney General may contract for or buy any interest
in land, including temporary use rights, adjacent to or in the vicinity
of an international land border when the Attorney General deems the land
essential to control and guard the boundaries and borders of the United
States against any violation of this Act.

\(2\) The Attorney General may contract for or buy any interest in land
identified pursuant to paragraph (1) as soon as the lawful owner of that
interest fixes a price for it and the Attorney General considers that
price to be reasonable.

\(3\) When the Attorney General and the lawful owner of an interest
identified pursuant to paragraph (1) are unable to agree upon a
reasonable price, the Attorney General may commence condemnation
proceedings pursuant to the Act of August 1, 1888 (Chapter 728; 25 Stat.
357).

\(4\) The Attorney General may accept for the United States a gift of
any interest in land identified pursuant to paragraph (1).

\(c\) The Commissioner shall be a citizen of the United States and shall
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate. He shall be charged with any and all responsibilities and
authority in the administration of the Service and of this Act which are
conferred upon the Attorney General as may be delegated to him by the
Attorney General or which may be prescribed by the Attorney General. The
Commissioner may enter into cooperative agreements with State and local
enforcement agencies for the purpose of assisting in the enforcement of
the immigration laws. 5/

(d)(1) The Commissioner, in consultation with interested academicians,
government agencies, and other parties, shall provide for a system for
collection and dissemination, to Congress and the public, of information
(not in individually identifiable form) useful in evaluating the social,
economic, environmental, and demographic impact of immigration laws.

\(2\) 6/ Such information shall include information on the alien
population in the United States, on the rates of naturalization and
emigration of resident aliens, on aliens who have been admitted,
paroled, or granted asylum, on nonimmigrants in the United States (by
occupation, basis for admission, and duration of stay), on aliens who
have not been admitted or have been removed from the United States, on
the number of applications filed and granted for cancellation of
removal, and on the number of aliens estimated to be present unlawfully
in the United States in each fiscal year.

\(3\) Such system shall provide for the collection and dissemination of
such information not less often than annually.

(e)(1) The Commissioner shall submit to Congress annually a report which
contains a summary of the information collected under subsection (d) and
an analysis of trends in immigration and naturalization.

\(2\) Each annual report shall include information on the number, and
rate of denial administratively, of applications for naturalization, for
each district office of the Service and by national origin group.

\(f\) 7/ The Attorney General shall allocate to each State not fewer
than 10 full-time active duty agents of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service to carry out the functions of the Service, in
order to ensure the effective enforcement of this Act.

\(g\) 10/ ATTORNEY GENERAL.---

\(1\) IN GENERAL.---The Attorney General shall have such authorities and
functions under this Act and all other laws relating to the immigration
and naturalization of aliens as were exercised by the Executive Office
for Immigration Review, or by the Attorney General with respect to the
Executive Office for Immigration Review, on the day before the effective
date of the Immigration Reform, Accountability and Security Enhancement
Act of 2002.

\(2\) POWERS.---The Attorney General shall establish such regulations,
prescribe such forms of bond, reports, entries, and other papers, issue
such instructions, review such administrative determinations in
immigration proceedings, delegate such authority, and perform such other
acts as the Attorney General determines to be necessary for carrying out
this section.

\(h\) 8/ (1) The Attorney General shall establish within the Criminal
Division of the Department of Justice an Office of Special
Investigations with the authority to detect and investigate, and, where
appropriate, to take legal action to denaturalize any alien described in
section 212(a)(3)(E).

\(2\) The Attorney General shall consult with the Secretary of Homeland
Security in making determinations concerning the criminal prosecution or
extradition of aliens described in section 212(a)(3)(E).

\(3\) In determining the appropriate legal action to take against an
alien described in section 212(a)(3)(E), consideration shall be given
to\--

\(A\) the availability of criminal prosecution under the laws of the
United States for any conduct that may form the basis for removal and
denaturalization; or

\(B\) the availability of extradition of the alien to a foreign
jurisdiction that is prepared to undertake a prosecution for such
conduct.