I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1562

A bill to replace the Immigration and Naturalization Service with the Office

of the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau

of Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 24, 2001

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on

Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

A bill to replace the Immigration and Naturalization Service

with the Office of the Associate Attorney General for

Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigration Restruc5 turing and Accountability Act of 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE AT2 TORNEY GENERAL FOR IMMIGRATION AF3 FAIRS.

4 (a) OFFICE OF ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR

5 IMMIGRATION AFFAIRS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

7 Department of Justice an office to be known as the

8 Office of the Associate Attorney General for Immi9 gration Affairs.

10 (2) ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IMMI11 GRATION AFFAIRS.—The head of the Office of the

12 Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs

13 shall be the Associate Attorney General for Immi14 gration Affairs who—

15 (A) shall be appointed by the President, by

16 and with the advice and consent of the Senate;

17 (B) shall conduct inspections at ports of

18 entry into the United States; and

19 (C) shall report directly to the Attorney

20 General or the Attorney General’s designate.

21 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Associate Attorney

22 General for Immigration Affairs shall be paid at the

23 rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Execu24 tive Schedule (as listed in section 5315 of title 5,

25 United States Code).
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1 (4) FUNCTIONS.—The Associate Attorney Gen2 eral for Immigration Affairs—

3 (A) shall supervise and coordinate the

4 functions performed by the Director of the Bu5 reau of Immigration Services established under

6 section 3 and the Director of the Bureau of Im7 migration Enforcement established under sec8 tion 4;

9 (B) shall be charged with any additional

10 responsibilities and authority in the administra11 tion of the Office of the Associate Attorney

12 General for Immigration Affairs and of the Im13 migration and Nationality Act which are con14 ferred upon the Attorney General as may be

15 delegated to the Associate Attorney General for

16 Immigration Affairs by the Attorney General or

17 which may be prescribed by the Attorney Gen18 eral; and

19 (C) shall perform such other functions as

20 are otherwise vested in the Associate Attorney

21 General for Immigration Affairs by law.

22 (b) COUNSEL.—There shall be a position of Counsel

23 to the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs

24 and this position shall be a career reserved position within

25 the Senior Executive Service. The Counsel shall have such
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1 authorities and functions as may be delegated to the

2 Counsel by the Associate Attorney General for Immigra3 tion Affairs or which may be prescribed by the Associate

4 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs.

5 (c) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.—There shall be a

6 position of Chief Financial Officer for the Office of the

7 Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs and

8 this position shall be a career reserved position within the

9 Senior Executive Service and shall have the authorities

10 and functions described in section 902 of title 31, United

11 States Code, in relation to financial activities of such of12 fice. The provisions of section 903 of such title (relating

13 to Deputy Chief Financial Officers) shall also apply to

14 such office in the same manner as the previous sentence

15 applies to such office.

16 (d) OFFICE OF SHARED SERVICES.—There is estab17 lished in the Office of the Associate Attorney General for

18 Immigration Affairs an office to be known as the Office

19 of Shared Services. The head of the Office of Shared Serv20 ices shall be the Chief of the Office of Shared Services.

21 This position shall be a career-reserved position within the

22 Senior Executive Service. The Chief of the Office of

23 Shared Services shall be responsible for the appropriate

24 allocation and coordination of resources involved in sup25 porting shared support functions for the Office of the As-
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1 sociate Attorney General, the Bureau of Immigration

2 Services, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement.

3 (e) OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION QUALITY ASSURANCE,

4 PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND CUSTOMER SERV5 ICE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

7 Office of the Associate Attorney General for Immi8 gration Affairs an office to be known as the Office

9 of Immigration Quality Assurance, Professional Re10 sponsibility, and Customer Service (in this sub11 section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’).

12 (2) DIRECTOR.—

13 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be

14 headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by

15 the Associate Attorney General for Immigration

16 Affairs and without regard to the provisions of

17 title 5, United States Code, relating to appoint18 ments in the competitive service of the Senior

19 Executive Service. The Director shall report di20 rectly to the Associate Attorney General for Im21 migration Affairs.

22 (B) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall

23 be paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level

24 IV of the Executive Schedule (as listed in sec25 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code).
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1 (3) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE.—The functions of

2 the Office of Immigration Quality Assurance, Pro3 fessional Responsibility, and Customer Service shall

4 include the following:

5 (A) QUALITY ASSURANCE.—

6 (i) To ensure that national policies

7 are correctly implemented.

8 (ii) To determine whether policies or

9 practices result in poor file management,

10 inefficient utilization of computer and

11 other technological resources, or poor or

12 inaccurate service.

13 (iii) To report findings recommending

14 corrective action to the Associate Attorney

15 General for Immigration Affairs.

16 (B) PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.—

17 (i) To train all enforcement personnel

18 on civil rights.

19 (ii) To receive charges of misconduct

20 or ill treatment made by the public, to in21 vestigate such charges, and to provide an

22 appropriate remedy or disposition of them.

23 (C) CUSTOMER SERVICE.—

24 (i) To assist individuals in resolving

25 service or case problems with the Bureau
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1 of Immigration services established under

2 section 3 or the Bureau of Immigration

3 Enforcement established under section 4.

4 (ii) To identify areas in which individ5 uals have problems in dealings with the

6 Bureau of Immigration Services or the Bu7 reau of Immigration Enforcement.

8 (iii) To the extent possible, to propose

9 changes in the administrative practices of

10 the two bureaus to mitigate problems iden11 tified under clause (ii).

12 (iv) To monitor the coverage and geo13 graphic allocation of local offices of the 2

14 bureaus.

15 (v) To ensure that the local telephone

16 number for each local office of each bureau

17 is published and available to individuals

18 served by the office.

19 (D) COORDINATION.—To coordinate the

20 functions performed by, and resolve any dispute

21 between, the Office of Children’s Affairs of the

22 Bureau of Immigration Services and the Office

23 of Children’s Affairs of the Bureau of Immigra24 tion Enforcement.
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1 (4) PERSONNEL ACTIONS.—The Director shall

2 have the responsibility and authority to appoint local

3 or regional representatives of the Office as in the

4 Director’s judgment may be necessary to address

5 and rectify serious service and training problems.

6 (5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ASSOCIATE AT7 TORNEY GENERAL FOR IMMIGRATION AFFAIRS.—

8 The Associate Attorney General for Immigration Af9 fairs shall establish procedures requiring a formal

10 response to all recommendations submitted by the

11 Director within three months after submission of the

12 Director’s reports or recommendations. The Asso13 ciate Attorney General shall meet regularly with the

14 Director to identify and correct serious service and

15 training problems.

16 (6) ANNUAL REPORTS.—

17 (A) OBJECTIVES.—Not later than June 30

18 of each calendar year, the Director shall report

19 to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House

20 of Representatives and the Committee on the

21 Judiciary of the Senate on the objectives of the

22 Office for the fiscal year beginning in such cal23 endar year. Any such report shall contain full

24 and substantive analysis, in addition to statis25 tical information.
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1 (B) ACTIVITIES.—Not later than Decem2 ber 31 of each calendar year, the Director shall

3 submit a report to the Committee on the Judi4 ciary of the House of Representatives and the

5 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate on

6 the activities of the Office during the fiscal year

7 ending in that calendar year. Any such report

8 shall contain a full and substantive analysis, in

9 addition to statistical information, and shall—

10 (i) identify the initiatives the Office

11 has taken on improving services and the

12 responsiveness of the Bureau of Immigra13 tion Services and the Bureau of Immigra14 tion Enforcement;

15 (ii) contain a summary of the most se16 rious service problems encountered by indi17 viduals, including a description of the na18 ture of such problems;

19 (iii) contain an inventory of the items

20 described in clauses (i) and (ii), the status

21 of any actions taken or not taken regard22 ing them, the result of such actions, and

23 the reasons why no actions were taken,

24 where applicable;
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1 (iv) contain recommendations as may

2 be appropriate to resolve problems encoun3 tered by individuals; and

4 (v) include such other information as

5 the Director may deem advisable.

6 (f) REFERENCES.—With respect to any function

7 transferred from the Commissioner of the Immigration

8 and Naturalization Service by this section or Act to, and

9 exercised on or after the effective date of this section by,

10 the Office of the Associate Attorney General for Immigra11 tion Affairs, reference in any other Federal law, Executive

12 order, rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any

13 document of or pertaining to an office from which a func14 tion is so transferred—

15 (1) to the head of such office is deemed to refer

16 to the Associate Attorney General for Immigration

17 Affairs; or

18 (2) to such office is deemed to refer to the Of19 fice of the Associate Attorney General for Immigra20 tion Affairs.

21 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION

22 SERVICES.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

25 Department of Justice a bureau to be known as the
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1 Bureau of Immigration Services (in this section re2 ferred to as the ‘‘Service Bureau’’).

3 (2) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Service Bu4 reau shall be the Director of the Bureau of Immi5 gration Services who—

6 (A) shall be appointed by the Attorney

7 General; and

8 (B) shall report directly to the Associate

9 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs or

10 such person’s delegate.

11 (3) COMPENSATION.—Such Director shall be

12 paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of

13 the Executive Schedule (as listed in section 5315 of

14 title 5, United States Code).

15 (4) FUNCTIONS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such Director shall

17 perform such functions as are transferred to

18 the Director by this section or this Act or oth19 erwise vested in the Director by law.

20 (B) PROTECTION AGAINST PROCESSING

21 DELAYS.—

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of

23 the Congress that such Director should de24 velop, implement, and maintain procedures

25 to ensure, to the extent practicable, that
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1 all complete applications for a benefit

2 under the Immigration and Nationality Act

3 are granted or denied within a reasonable

4 period of time after their submission, such

5 as the following periods:

6 (I) In the case of a petition to

7 accord status under section

8 201(b)(2)(A)(i), or subsection (a), (b),

9 or (c) of section 203, of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act, 60 days.

11 (II) In the case of an application

12 for adjustment of status under section

13 245 of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act, 180 days.

15 (III) In the case of a petition to

16 accord or extend status under section

17 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and

18 Nationality Act, 30 days.

19 (IV) In the case of an application

20 to accord benefits under section 301

21 of the Immigration and Nationality

22 Act, 90 days.

23 (V) In the case of an application

24 to accord status under section

25 207(c)(2) of the Immigration and Na-
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1 tionality Act to the spouse or child of

2 a refugee admitted under section

3 207(c)(1) of such Act, or to accord

4 status under section 208(b)(3) of such

5 Act to the spouse or child of an alien

6 granted asylum under section

7 208(b)(1) of such Act, 60 days.

8 (VI) In the case of an application

9 for issuance of documents evidencing

10 employment authorization, 30 days.

11 (VII) In the case of a petition

12 under section 216 of the Immigration

13 and Nationality Act to remove the

14 conditions on permanent resident sta15 tus for certain alien spouses, sons,

16 and daughters, 90 days.

17 (VIII) In the case of a petition

18 under section 216A of the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act to remove

20 the conditions on permanent resident

21 status for certain alien entrepreneurs,

22 spouses, sons, and daughters, 90

23 days.

24 (IX) In the case of an application

25 for registration for temporary pro-
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1 tected status under section 244 of the

2 Immigration and Nationality Act, 60

3 days.

4 (ii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA5 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro6 priated such sums are may be necessary

7 for fiscal years 2002 through 2004 to re8 duce any backlog in processing and adjudi9 cating pending—

10 (I) applications for naturalization

11 under section 308 under the Immigra12 tion and Nationality Act;

13 (II) applications for adjustments

14 of status under sections 245 and 209

15 of such Act;

16 (III) petitions for nonimmigrant

17 visas under section 214 of such Act;

18 (IV) applications for immigrant

19 visas under section 222 of such Act;

20 (V) applications for asylum under

21 section 208 of such Act; and

22 (VI) petitions for temporary pro23 tected status under section 244 of

24 such Act.
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1 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are trans2 ferred from the Commissioner of the Immigration and

3 Naturalization Service to the Director of the Bureau of

4 Immigration Services all functions performed under the

5 following programs, and all personnel, infrastructure, and

6 funding provided to the Commissioner in support of such

7 programs immediately before the effective date of this sec8 tion:

9 (1) Adjudications of nonimmigrant and immi10 grant visa petitions.

11 (2) Adjudications of naturalization petitions.

12 (3) Adjudications of asylum and refugee appli13 cations.

14 (4) Adjudications performed at Service centers.

15 (5) All other adjudications under the Immigra16 tion and Nationality Act performed by the Immigra17 tion and Naturalization Service as of the date of the

18 enactment of this Act.

19 (c) OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S AFFAIRS.—Within the

20 Service Bureau, there shall be an Office of Children’s Af21 fairs. The head of such office shall be the Deputy Director

22 for Children’s Affairs, who shall be charged with any and

23 all responsibilities and authority relating to the special

24 needs of children which are conferred upon the Director

25 of the Service Bureau as may be delegated to the Deputy
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1 Director by the Director, or which may be prescribed by

2 the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs.

3 (d) REFERENCES.—With respect to any function

4 transferred from the Commissioner of the Immigration

5 and Naturalization Service by this section or Act to, and

6 exercised on or after the effective date of this section by,

7 the Services Bureau, reference in any other Federal law,

8 Executive order, rule, regulation, or delegation of author9 ity, or any document of or pertaining to an office from

10 which a function is so transferred—

11 (1) to the head of such office is deemed to refer

12 to the Director of the Bureau of Immigration Serv13 ices; or

14 (2) to such office is deemed to refer to the

15 Services Bureau.

16 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION EN17 FORCEMENT.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

20 Department of Justice a bureau to be known as the

21 Bureau of Immigration Enforcement (in this section

22 referred to as the ‘‘Enforcement Bureau’’).

23 (2) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Enforcement

24 Bureau shall be the Director of the Bureau of Immi25 gration Enforcement who—
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1 (A) shall be appointed by the Attorney

2 General; and

3 (B) shall report directly to the Associate

4 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs or

5 such person’s delegate.

6 (3) COMPENSATION.—Such Director shall be

7 paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of

8 the Executive Schedule (as listed in section 5315 of

9 title 5, United States Code).

10 (4) FUNCTIONS.—Such Director shall perform

11 such functions as are transferred to the Director by

12 this section or Act or otherwise vested in the Direc13 tor by law.

14 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are trans15 ferred from the Commissioner of the Immigration and

16 Naturalization Service to the Director of the Bureau of

17 Immigration Enforcement all functions performed under

18 the following programs, and all personnel, infrastructure,

19 and funding provided to the Commissioner in support of

20 such programs immediately before the effective date of

21 this section:

22 (1) The Border Patrol program.

23 (2) The detention and deportation program.

24 (3) The intelligence program.

25 (4) The investigations program.
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1 (c) OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S AFFAIRS.—Within the

2 Enforcement Bureau, there shall be an Office of Chil3 dren’s Affairs. The head of such office shall be the Deputy

4 Director for Children’s Affairs, who shall be charged with

5 any and all responsibilities and authority relating to the

6 special needs of children which are conferred upon the Di7 rector of the Enforcement Bureau as may be delegated

8 to the Deputy Director by the Director, or which may be

9 prescribed by the Associate Attorney General for Immigra10 tion Affairs.

11 (d) REFERENCES.—With respect to any function

12 transferred from the Commissioner of the Immigration

13 and Naturalization Service by this section or Act to, and

14 exercised on or after the effective date of this section by,

15 the Director of the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement,

16 any reference in any other Federal law, Executive order,

17 rule, regulation, or delegation of authority, or any docu18 ment of or pertaining to an office from which a function

19 is so transferred—

20 (1) to the head of such office is deemed to refer

21 to the Director of the Bureau of Immigration En22 forcement; or

23 (2) to such office is deemed to refer to the En24 forcement Bureau.
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1 SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF INTERNET BASED TECH2 NOLOGIES.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRACKING SYSTEM.—The

4 Attorney General and the Secretary of Labor, not later

5 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,

6 in consultation with the Technology Advisory Committee

7 established under subsection (c), shall establish an Inter8 net web-based system, that will permit a person, employer,

9 immigrant, or nonimmigrant who has filings with the At10 torney General or such Secretary for any benefit under

11 the Immigration and Nationality Act, access to online in12 formation about the processing status of the filing in13 volved.

14 (b) FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR ON-LINE FILING AND

15 IMPROVED PROCESSING.—

16 (1) ON-LINE FILING.—The Attorney General,

17 in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, the Sec18 retary of Commerce, and the Technology Advisory

19 Committee under subsection (c), shall conduct a fea20 sibility study on the on-line filing of the filings de21 scribed in subsection (a). The study shall include an

22 estimate of the timeframe and cost and shall con23 sider other factors in implementing such a filing sys24 tem, including the feasibility of fee payment on-line.

25 (2) EXAMINATION OF IMPROVED PROC26 ESSING.—The study shall also include a review of
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1 computerization and technology of the Department

2 of Labor and the Immigration and Naturalization

3 Service relating to the immigration services and

4 processing of filings related to immigrant services.

5 The study shall examine how to meet the goal of

6 achieving processing of 98 percent of filings for law7 ful permanent resident status within 3 months of

8 the date on which they are filed and 98 percent of

9 filings for nonimmigrant status within 1 month of

10 the date on which they are filed.

11 (3) REPORT.—A report on the study under this

12 subsection shall be submitted to the Committees on

13 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and

14 the Senate not later than January 1, 2002.

15 (c) TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General,

17 the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Com18 merce shall jointly establish, not later than 30 days

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act an advi20 sory committee (in this section referred to as the

21 ‘‘Technology Advisory Committee’’) to assist them

22 in—

23 (A) establishing the tracking system under

24 subsection (a);
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1 (B) conducting the study under subsection

2 (b); and

3 (C) establishing a system to verify Internet

4 recruitment.

5 The Technology Advisory Committee shall be estab6 lished after consultation with the Committees on the

7 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the

8 Senate.

9 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Technology Advisory

10 Committee shall be composed of representatives

11 from high technology companies capable of estab12 lishing and implementing the system in an expedi13 tious manner, and representatives of persons who

14 may use the tracking system described in subsection

15 (a) and the on-line filing system described in sub16 section (b)(1).

17 SEC. 6. EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.

18 Except as otherwise provided by law, a Federal offi19 cial to whom a function is transferred by this Act may,

20 for purposes of performing the function, exercise all au21 thorities under any other provision of law that were avail22 able with respect to the performance of that function to

23 the official responsible for the performance of the function

24 immediately before the effective date of the transfer of the

25 function under this Act.
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1 SEC. 7. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

2 (a) LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—All orders, determinations,

3 rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agree4 ments, certificates, licenses, and privileges—

5 (1) that have been issued, made, granted, or al6 lowed to become effective by the President, the At7 torney General, the Commissioner of the Immigra8 tion and Naturalization Service, their delegates, or

9 any other Government official, or by a court of com10 petent jurisdiction, in the performance of any func11 tion that is transferred by this Act; and

12 (2) that are in effect on the effective date of

13 such transfer (or become effective after such date

14 pursuant to their terms as in effect on such effective

15 date);

16 shall continue in effect according to their terms until

17 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in

18 accordance with law by the President, any other author19 ized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation

20 of law.

21 (b) PROCEEDINGS.—This Act shall not affect any

22 proceedings or any application for any benefits, service,

23 license, permit, certificate, or financial assistance pending

24 on the effective date in section 14 before an office whose

25 functions are transferred by this Act, but such proceedings

26 and applications shall be continued. Orders shall be issued
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1 in such proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and

2 payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as if this

3 Act had not been enacted, and orders issued in any such

4 proceeding shall continue in effect until modified, termi5 nated, superseded, or revoked by a duly authorized official,

6 by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation of

7 law. Nothing in this section shall be considered to prohibit

8 the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding

9 under the same terms and conditions and to the same ex10 tent that such proceeding could have been discontinued

11 or modified if this section had not been enacted.

12 (c) SUITS.—This Act shall not affect suits com13 menced before the effective date in section 14, and in all

14 such suits, proceedings shall be had, appeals taken, and

15 judgments rendered in the same manner and with the

16 same effect as if this Act had not been enacted.

17 (d) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, action,

18 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Depart19 ment of Justice or the Immigration and Naturalization

20 Service, or by or against any individual in the official ca21 pacity of such individual as an officer or employee in con22 nection with a function transferred by this Act, shall abate

23 by reason of the enactment of this Act.

24 (e) CONTINUANCE OF SUITS.—If any Government of25 ficer, in the official capacity of such officer is party to
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1 a suit with respect to a function of the officer, and under

2 this Act such function is transferred to any other officer

3 or office, then such suit shall be continued with the other

4 officer or the head of such other office, as applicable, sub5 stituted or added as a party.

6 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE AND JUDICIAL RE7 VIEW.—Except as otherwise provided by this Act, any

8 statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, action

9 upon the record, or administrative or judicial review that

10 apply to any function transferred by this Act shall apply

11 to the exercise of such function by the head of the office,

12 and other officers of the office, to which such function is

13 transferred by such section.

14 SEC. 8. TRANSFER AND ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

15 AND PERSONNEL.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The personnel of the Department

17 of Justice employed in connection with the functions

18 transferred by this section (and functions that the Attor19 ney General determines are properly related to the func20 tions of the Office of the Associate Attorney General for

21 Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Services,

22 or the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement and would, if

23 so transferred, further the purposes of the respective office

24 or bureau), and the assets, liabilities, contracts, property,

25 records, and unexpended balance of appropriations, au-
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1 thorizations, allocations, and other funds employed, held,

2 used, arising from, available to, or to be made available

3 to the Immigration and Naturalization Service in connec4 tion with the functions transferred by this Act, subject to

5 section 202 of the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act

6 of 1950, shall be transferred to the Office of the Associate

7 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs for appropriate

8 allocation by the Associate Attorney General for Immigra9 tion Affairs. Unexpended funds transferred pursuant to

10 this subsection shall be used only for the purposes for

11 which the funds were originally authorized and appro12 priated. The Attorney General shall retain the right to ad13 just or realign transfers of funds and personnel effected

14 pursuant to this Act.

15 (b) EFFECT ON PERSONNEL.—

16 (1) EFFECT ON INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.—The

17 transfer under this Act of full-time personnel (except

18 special Government employees) and part-time per19 sonnel holding permanent positions shall not cause

20 any such employee to be separated or reduced in

21 grade or compensation for 1 year after the date of

22 transfer.

23 (2) COMPENSATION LEVELS.—All transfers of

24 personnel under this Act shall be consistent with em25 ployee pay and grade retention entitlement under
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1 subchapter VI of chapter 53 of title 5, United States

2 Code, and shall not be reduced for any individual in

3 a career position in the civil service, as of the date

4 of the enactment of this Act.

5 (3) ADOPTION OF EXISTING LABOR AGREE6 MENTS.—The Office of the Associate Attorney Gen7 eral for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immi8 gration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration

9 Enforcement shall adopt all labor agreements which

10 are in effect, as of the day before the effective date

11 in section 14, with respect to the Immigration and

12 Naturalization Service. Each such agreement shall

13 remain in effect for the 2-year period commencing

14 on such date, unless the agreement provides for a

15 shorter duration or the parties agree otherwise be16 fore such period ends.

17 (c) NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL.—Noth18 ing in this Act shall be interpreted to decrease the number

19 of authorized positions within each program as it exists

20 on the date of the enactment of this Act in the Immigra21 tion and Naturalization Service.

22 (d) DELEGATION AND ASSIGNMENT.—Except as oth23 erwise expressly prohibited by law or otherwise provided

24 in this Act, the Associate Attorney General for Immigra25 tion Affairs, the Director of the Bureau of Immigration
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1 Services, and the Director of the Bureau of Immigration

2 Enforcement to whom functions are transferred under this

3 Act may delegate any of the functions so transferred to

4 such officers and employees of the Office of the Associate

5 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of

6 Immigration Services and the Bureau of Immigration En7 forcement, respectively, as such official may designate,

8 and may authorize successive redelegations of such func9 tions as may be necessary or appropriate. No delegation

10 of functions under this subsection or under any other pro11 vision of this Act shall relieve the official to whom a func12 tion is transferred under this Act of responsibility for the

13 administration of the function.

14 (e) AUTHORITIES OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At15 torney General (or a delegate of the Attorney General),

16 at such time or times as the Attorney General (or the dele17 gate) shall provide, may make such determinations as may

18 be necessary with regard to the functions transferred by

19 this Act, and make such additional incidental dispositions

20 of personnel, assets, liabilities, grants, contracts, property,

21 records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, au22 thorizations, allocations, and other funds held, used, aris23 ing from, available to, or to be made available in connec24 tion with such functions, as may be necessary to carry out

25 the provisions of this Act. The Attorney General shall pro-
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1 vide for such further measures and dispositions as may

2 be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act.

3 SEC. 9. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

4 Nothing in this Act may be construed to preclude or

5 limit in any way the powers, authorities, or duties of the

6 Secretary of State and special agents of the Department

7 of State and the Foreign Service under the State Depart8 ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956, the Immigration and

9 Nationality Act, or any other Act to investigate illegal

10 passport or visa issuance or use.

11 SEC. 10. PERSONNEL FLEXIBILITIES.

12 (a) GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS IN PERSONNEL

13 FLEXIBILITIES.—Subpart I of part III of title 5, United

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing chapter:

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 96—PERSONNEL FLEXIBILI17 TIES RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF

18 THE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

19 FOR IMMIGRATION AFFAIRS, THE BU20 REAU OF IMMIGRATION SERVICES,

21 AND THE BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION

22 ENFORCEMENT

‘‘Sec.

‘‘9601. Office of the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, Bureau of Immigration Services, and Bureau of Enforcement personnel flexibilities.

‘‘9602. Pay authority for critical positions.

‘‘9603. Streamline critical pay authority.

‘‘9604. Recruitment, retention, relocation incentives, and relocation expenses.
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1 ‘‘§ 9601. Office of the Associate Attorney General for

2 Immigration Affairs, Bureau of Immigra3 tion Services, and Bureau of Enforcement

4 personnel flexibilities

5 ‘‘(a) Any flexibilities provided by sections 9602

6 through 9604 shall be exercised in a manner consistent

7 with—

8 ‘‘(1) chapter 23 (relating to merit system prin9 ciples and prohibited personnel practices);

10 ‘‘(2) provisions relating to preference eligibles;

11 ‘‘(3) except as otherwise specifically provided,

12 section 5307 (relating to the aggregate limitation on

13 pay);

14 ‘‘(4) except as otherwise specifically provided,

15 chapter 71 (relating to labor-management relations);

16 and

17 ‘‘(5) subject to subsections (b) and (c) of sec18 tion 1104, as though such authorities were delegated

19 to the Attorney General under section 1104(a)(2).

20 ‘‘(b) The Attorney General shall provide the Office

21 of Personnel Management with any information that Of22 fice requires in carrying out its responsibilities under this

23 section.

24 ‘‘(c) Employees within a unit to which a labor organi25 zation is accorded exclusive recognition under chapter 71
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1 shall not be subject to any flexibility provided by sections

2 9602 through 9604.

3 ‘‘§ 9602. Pay authority for critical positions

4 ‘‘(a) When the Attorney General seeks a grant of au5 thority under section 5377 for critical pay for 1 or more

6 positions at the Office of the Associate Attorney General

7 for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Serv8 ices, or the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement, the Of9 fice of Management and Budget may fix the rate of basic

10 pay, notwithstanding sections 5377(d)(2) and 5307, at

11 any rate up to the salary set in accordance with section

12 104 of title 3.

13 ‘‘(b) No allowance, differential, bonus, award, or

14 similar cash payment may be paid to any employee receiv15 ing critical pay at a rate fixed under subsection (a), in

16 any calendar year if, or to the extent that, the employee’s

17 total annual compensation will exceed the maximum

18 amount of total annual compensation payable at the salary

19 set in accordance with section 104 of title 3.

20 ‘‘§ 9603. Streamlined critical pay authority

21 ‘‘(a) Notwithstanding section 9602, and without re22 gard to the provisions of this title governing appointments

23 in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service

24 and chapters 51 and 53 (relating to classification and pay

25 rates), the Attorney General may, for a period of 10 years
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1 after the date of the enactment of this section, establish,

2 fix the compensation of, and appoint individuals to, des3 ignated critical administrative, technical, and professional

4 positions needed to carry out the functions of the Office

5 of the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs,

6 the Bureau of Immigration Services, or the Bureau of Im7 migration Enforcement, if—

8 ‘‘(1) the positions—

9 ‘‘(A) require expertise of an extremely high

10 level in an administrative, technical, or profes11 sional field; and

12 ‘‘(B) are critical to the successful accom13 plishment of an important mission by the Office

14 of the Associate Attorney General for Immigra15 tion Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Serv16 ices, or the Bureau of Immigration Enforce17 ment;

18 ‘‘(2) exercise of the authority is necessary to re19 cruit or retain an individual exceptionally well quali20 fied for the position;

21 ‘‘(3) the number of such positions in each of

22 the Office of the Associate Attorney General for Im23 migration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Serv24 ices, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement

25 does not exceed 10 at any one time;
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1 ‘‘(4) designation of such positions is approved

2 by the Attorney General;

3 ‘‘(5) the terms of such appointments are limited

4 to no more than 4 years;

5 ‘‘(6) appointees to such positions were not Im6 migration and Naturalization Service employees

7 prior to the date of the enactment of this section;

8 ‘‘(7) total annual compensation for any ap9 pointee to such positions does not exceed the highest

10 total annual compensation payable at the rate deter11 mined under section 104 of title 3; and

12 ‘‘(8) all such positions are excluded from the

13 collective bargaining unit.

14 ‘‘(b) Individuals appointed under this section shall

15 not be considered to be employees for purposes of sub16 chapter II of chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code.

17 ‘‘§ 9604. Recruitment, retention, relocation incen18 tives, and relocation expenses

19 ‘‘(a) For a period of 10 years after the date of the

20 enactment of this section and subject to approval by the

21 Office of Personnel Management, the Attorney General

22 may provide for variations from sections 5753 and 5754

23 governing payment of recruitment, relocation, and reten24 tion incentives.
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1 ‘‘(b) For a period of 10 years after the date of the

2 enactment of this section, the Attorney General may pay

3 from appropriations made to the Office of the Associate

4 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of

5 Immigration Services, or to the Bureau of Immigration

6 Enforcement allowable relocation expenses under section

7 5724a for employees transferred or reemployed and allow8 able travel and transportation expenses under section

9 5723 for new appointees, for any new appointee appointed

10 to a position for which pay is fixed under section 9602

11 or 9603 after the date of the enactment of this section.’’.

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters

13 for part III of title 5, United States Code, is amended

14 by adding after the item relating to chapter 95 the fol15 lowing:

‘‘96. Personnel flexibilities relating to Office of the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration

Services, and Bureau of Immigration Enforcement ........................ 9601’’.

16 (c) VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAY17 MENTS.—

18 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term

19 ‘‘employee’’ means an employee (as defined by sec20 tion 2105 of title 5, United States Code) who is em21 ployed by the Office of the Associate Attorney Gen22 eral for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immi23 gration Services, or the Bureau of Immigration En24 forcement under an appointment without time limi-
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1 tation, and has been currently employed for a con2 tinuous period of at least 3 years, but does not

3 include—

4 (A) a reemployed annuitant under sub5 chapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title

6 5, United States Code, or another retirement

7 system;

8 (B) an employee having a disability on the

9 basis of which such employee is or would be eli10 gible for disability retirement under the applica11 ble retirement system referred to in subpara12 graph (A);

13 (C) an employee who is in receipt of a spe14 cific notice of involuntary separation for mis15 conduct or unacceptable performance;

16 (D) an employee who, upon completing an

17 additional period of service as referred to in

18 section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Federal Workforce

19 Restructuring Act of 1994 (5 U.S.C. 5597

20 note), would qualify for a voluntary separation

21 incentive payment under section 3 of such Act;

22 (E) an employee who has previously re23 ceived any voluntary separation incentive pay24 ment by the Federal Government under this
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1 section or any other authority and has not re2 paid such payment;

3 (F) an employee covered by statutory re4 employment rights who is on transfer to an5 other organization;

6 (G) any employee who, during the 24-

7 month period preceding the date of separation,

8 has received a recruitment or relocation bonus

9 under section 5753 of title 5, United States

10 Code, or who, within the 12-month period pre11 ceding the date of separation, received a reten12 tion allowance under section 5754 of title 5,

13 United States Code; or

14 (H) any employee within a unit to which a

15 labor organization is accorded exclusive recogni16 tion under chapter 71.

17 (2) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE VOLUNTARY SEPA18 RATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Attorney

20 General for Immigration Affairs may pay vol21 untary separation incentive payments under

22 this section to any employee to the extent nec23 essary to carry out the plan to restructure the

24 Immigration and Naturalization Service into

25 the Office of the Associate Attorney General for
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1 Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigra2 tion Services, and Bureau of Immigration En3 forcement under this Act.

4 (B) AMOUNT AND TREATMENT OF PAY5 MENTS.—A voluntary separation incentive

6 payment—

7 (i) shall be paid in a lump sum after

8 the employee’s separation;

9 (ii) shall be paid from appropriations

10 or funds available for the payment of the

11 basic pay of the employee;

12 (iii) shall be equal to the lesser of—

13 (I) an amount equal to the

14 amount the employee would be enti15 tled to receive under section 5595(c)

16 of title 5, United States Code; or

17 (II) an amount determined by

18 the Associate Attorney General for

19 Immigration Affairs not to exceed

20 $25,000;

21 (iv) may not be made except in the

22 case of any qualifying employee who volun23 tarily separates (whether by retirement or

24 resignation) before January 1, 2003;
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1 (v) shall not be a basis for payment,

2 and shall not be included in the computa3 tion, of any other type of Government ben4 efit; and

5 (vi) shall not be taken into account in

6 determining the amount of any severance

7 pay to which the employee may be entitled

8 under section 5595 of title 5, United

9 States Code, based on any other separa10 tion.

11 (3) ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO RETIRE12 MENT FUND.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any

14 other payments which it is required to make

15 under subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5,

16 United States Code, the Office of the Associate

17 Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the

18 Bureau of Immigration Services, and the Bu19 reau of Immigration Enforcement shall remit to

20 the Office of Personnel Management for deposit

21 in the Treasury of the United States to the

22 credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Dis23 ability Fund an amount equal to 15 percent of

24 the final basic pay of each employee who is cov25 ered under subchapter III of chapter 83 or
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1 chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, to

2 whom a voluntary separation incentive has been

3 paid under this subsection.

4 (B) DEFINITION.—In subparagraph (A),

5 the term ‘‘final basic pay’’, with respect to an

6 employee, means the total amount of basic pay

7 which would be payable for a year of service by

8 such employee, computed using the employee’s

9 final rate of basic pay, and, if last serving on

10 other than a full-time basis, with appropriate

11 adjustment therefor.

12 (4) EFFECT OF SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYMENT

13 WITH THE GOVERNMENT.—An individual who has

14 received a voluntary separation incentive payment

15 under this subsection and accepts any employment

16 for compensation with the Government of the United

17 States, or who works for any agency of the United

18 States Government through a personal services con19 tract, within 5 years after the date of the separation

20 on which the payment is based, shall be required to

21 pay, prior to the individual’s first day of employ22 ment, the entire amount of the incentive payment to

23 the Office of Associate Attorney General for Immi24 gration Affairs, the Bureau of Immigration Services,
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1 or the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement, as the

2 case may be.

3 (5) EFFECT ON EMPLOYMENT LEVELS.—

4 (A) INTENDED EFFECT.—Voluntary sepa5 rations under this subsection are not intended

6 to necessarily reduce the total number of full7 time equivalent positions in the Office of the

8 Associate Attorney General for Immigration Af9 fairs, the Bureau of Immigration Services, or

10 the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement.

11 (B) USE OF VOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS.—

12 The Office of the Associate Attorney General

13 for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immi14 gration Services, and the Bureau of Immigra15 tion Enforcement may redeploy or use the full16 time equivalent positions vacated by voluntary

17 separations under this subsection to make other

18 positions available to more critical locations or

19 more critical occupations.

20 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; DISPOSI21 TION OF FEES; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

24 appropriated for fiscal years 2002 through 2004
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1 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this

2 Act.

3 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro4 priated under paragraph (1) shall remain available

5 until expended.

6 (b) FUNDING.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established

8 separate accounts in the Treasury of the United

9 States for appropriated funds and other deposits

10 available for the Office of the Associate Attorney

11 General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Im12 migration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration

13 Enforcement.

14 (2) FEES.—Notwithstanding section 286 of the

15 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356) or

16 any other provision of law, fees imposed for a par17 ticular service, application, or benefit shall be depos18 ited into the account established under paragraph

19 (1) that is for the bureau with jurisdiction over the

20 function to which the fee relates.

21 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con22 gress that—

23 (1) the missions of both the Bureau of Immi24 gration Services and the Bureau of Immigration En-
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1 forcement are equally important and, accordingly,

2 both Bureaus should be adequately funded; and

3 (2) neither the immigration adjudication and

4 service functions referred to in section 3 nor the im5 migration enforcement functions referred to in sec6 tion 4 should operate at levels below that in exist7 ence prior to enactment of this Act.

8 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, not later

10 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act,

11 shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the

12 House of Representatives and of the Senate an implemen13 tation plan that details, consistent with this Act, an orga14 nizational structure for the Office of the Associate Attor15 ney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immi16 gration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforce17 ment, at the national and local levels. Such structure shall

18 ensure accountability by, and coordination among, the

19 subdivisions and offices comprising the Office of the Asso20 ciate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bu21 reau of Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Immigra22 tion Enforcement. The plan shall address any manage23 ment problems (such as unclear lines of accountability,

24 poor intra-agency communication and coordination, and

25 weaknesses in financial accountability, resource allocation,
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1 and budget planning and execution) within the Immigra2 tion and Naturalization Service on the date of the enact3 ment of this Act by including provisions that will prevent

4 these problems from being perpetuated within the Office

5 of the Associate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs.

6 The plan shall also address the issues of chain of com7 mand, shared services, file and data management and

8 oversight, financial management systems, fraud detection

9 and investigation, and establishment of a transition team.

10 (b) CONSULTANT.—The Attorney General shall enter

11 into a contract with a private entity specializing in man12 agement consulting requiring the entity to conduct a study

13 of any management problems (such as unclear lines of ac14 countability, poor intra-agency communication and coordi15 nation, and weaknesses in financial accountability, re16 source allocation, and budget planning and execution)

17 within the Immigration and Naturalization Service on the

18 date of the enactment of this Act and to issue a report

19 containing recommendations that will prevent these prob20 lems from being perpetuated within the Office of the Asso21 ciate Attorney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bu22 reau of Immigration Services, or the Bureau of Immigra23 tion Enforcement.

24 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.

25 For purposes of this Act:
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1 (1) The term ‘‘function’’ includes any duty, ob2 ligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privi3 lege, activity, or program.

4 (2) The term ‘‘office’’ includes any office, ad5 ministration, agency, bureau, institute, council, unit,

6 organizational entity, or component thereof.

7 SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATES.

8 The transfer of functions under this Act shall take

9 effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of the

10 enactment of this Act. The Office of the Associate Attor11 ney General for Immigration Affairs, the Bureau of Immi12 gration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration Enforce13 ment shall be established, and the Associate Attorney Gen14 eral for Immigration Affairs, the Director of the Bureau

15 of Immigration Services, and the Director of the Bureau

16 of Immigration Enforcement shall be appointed, not later

17 than such effective date.

Æ