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Article: Reinventing the border: will Congress finally reform the INS?(Immigration and Naturalization Service)
- Article from:
- Reason
- Article date:
- April 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Reason Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The country faced a crisis along the southern border. Illegal immigration and drug smuggling were flourishing from San Diego to Brownsville. Commentators argued that "foreign influences" were corrupting the country and demanded severe restrictions on immigration; some called for the commander-in-chief to send in the troops.
After months of study, the president announced a new plan in his State of the Union address. The problem, he argued, was that too many agencies were patrolling the border. Interagency rivalry and inefficiency were rampant, crippling enforcement efforts and wasting scarce tax dollars. It would make more sense to assemble the competing agencies ...