INS (the Immigration and Naturalization Service) is no more. Has not existed in any form since March 1, 2003.
The enforcement side of INS (the folks concerned with arresting, prosecuting, and deporting illegal immigrants, overstayers of visas, and so forth) became ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). ICE also has various bits of what used to be USCS (US Customs Service) and other organizations tagged onto it.
The benefits side of INS (the folks concerned with issuing visas, permanent residency, and citizenship) became USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services).
ICE and USCIS still have a deeply confusing (and confused) relationship, having been part of the same organization and same infrastructure, but they do, at least in theory, operate independently of each other.
One of the reasons that enforcement is more prominent now than it used to be, quite apart from the political environment of the last 8 years, is that in the INS days the benefits side of the house was heavily favored over the enforcement side. Enforcement costs money -- benefits makes money (all those lovely fees). So the benefits side got more funding and had more political pull. Now that they're separate, ICE has its own budget and doesn't have to feed off the scraps from the benefits folks.
Hope that clarifies the unholy tangle just a little.
Bill Higgins @47: I must respectfully disagree. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_Nimrod
That more or less matches what I know of the aircraft. The Nimrod AEW3 project was ultimately cancelled before it saw service, and the UK bought E-3 Sentries from the US instead. The primary service role of the Nimrod has always been as a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, fulfilling much the same purpose as the USN's P-3 Orion.
Given the theme of misplaced trust here, why do I get the feeling that Teresa's really awesome response (to which I'm looking forward as much as any) is being held in the Central Bank of Nigeria and we're all going to have to wire advance processing fees in order to get her to post it?
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 4 |
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