FY2002 Budget Summary

The FY 2002 budget includes $75,000,000 (S&E Enforcement Account) to increase Border Patrol staffing by 570 agents over the FY 2001 funded staffing level. Additional resources are part of a two-year plan by the Administration to achieve the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act authorized level of 5,000 additional agents, by adding 1,140 new agents - 570 in both FY 2002 and FY 2003. At the end of FY 2003, the authorized Border Patrol staffing level will reach nearly 11,000 agents. The goal of the increased resources in FY 2002 is to improve and extend operational control. INS will assess current border conditions, and based on its analysis, will target the appropriate deployment of new agents and technology.

To further enhance Border Patrol capabilities, $20,000,000 (S&E Benefits Account) is included for force-multiplying equipment and technology. In FY 2002, INS will continue to deploy the Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System (ISIS). Deploying this technology along the borders provides day and night visual coverage of the border. This technology can be deployed in rugged terrain, and in vast, open areas, and serves as a deterrent to potential illegal border crossers in areas where Border Patrol agents are not immediately visible. In addition, ground sensors are linked by Global Positioning Satellites to designated ISIS cameras that provides for immediate identification of what has triggered the ground sensors.

INS requests 78 positions, including 20 agents, 39 workyears, and $6,589,000 (S&E Enforcement Account) to establish intelligence units along the Northern and Southwest borders. These units will: collect, analyze, and disseminate information to identify and interdict illegal entrants to the U.S.; monitor potential terrorist activity and smuggling operations; and track the movement of illicit narcotics, weapons, and other contraband across the Nation's borders.

The growth of INS enforcement efforts, along with the IIRIRA, which requires INS to detain aliens subject to mandatory detention, have increased INS' need for detention bed space in recent years. INS' average daily bed space usage has more than doubled from 8,279 average daily detention beds in FY 1996 to 18,518 in FY 2000. To better predict future detention needs, in FY 2000, INS developed a new detention bed space model. The model uses historical information to make assumptions about apprehensions, length of stay in detention, and criminality of detainees to forecast detention bed needs at the district office level. The outcome of modeling done at the district office level was used to generate the FY 2002 national detention bed space estimate for INS.

Program increases for detention consist of the following:

Consolidated Bed Space Expansion

In FY 2002, INS requests funding in the Breached Bond/Detention Fund ($38,517,000) and the User Fee account ($6,512,000) for a total of 1,607 additional detention beds to reach a total average daily bed level of 21,262, which includes INS-run facilities. Support costs associated with the bed increase are requested in the Salaries and Expenses account.

Specifically, INS requests 116 positions and $20,309,000 for additional detention staff, support staff, and removals costs to support the increase in beds. In addition, $1,873,000 is for vehicles, which, along with the $1,483,000 in the Breached Bond/Detention Fund will fund a total of 40 vans and 7 buses to transport detainees.

Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS)

To enhance alien transportation requirements, INS requests $8,796,000 (S&E Enforcement Account) for the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS). These resources will fund additional domestic and repatriation JPATS movements, including repatriation flights to Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of Africa. The JPATS moves are a critical component of INS' National Transportation System, because large numbers of aliens may be economically and safely transported via JPATS flights. From FY 1996 through FY 2000, INS has increased its use of JPATS by 140 percent. The increased use of JPATS is, among other things, the result of a Department recommendation to eliminate prolonged bus trips, which addresses the issues of alien treatment and safety concerns; compensating for a lack of available detention bed space in certain geographic parts of the United States; and Congress' and the Department's recommendation that INS decrease its reliance and use of commercial airline flights for alien deportation.

Public Health Service

The FY 2002 budget includes $8,672,000 (S&E Enforcement) for INS' Public Health Service costs. Medical costs for detainees have risen significantly in recent years. In FY 1999, INS spent approximately $38.5 million on PHS, and in FY 2000, INS spent $49.4 million, an increase of 28 percent over FY 1999. Because of increasing costs and the fact that INS must provide adequate medical care for all detainees in INS custody, INS has made efforts to save money in this area through its managed care network and telemedicine. Additional PHS funding is requested to provide cost-effective, quality care for detainees and to keep pace with both increasing health care costs and a rapidly increasing detainee population.

Coordination with U.S. Attorneys

INS requests 42 positions, including 28 attorneys, and $2,653,000 (S&E Benefits) to enable the INS legal proceedings program to assist the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Office of Immigration Litigation in immigration-related matters arising in federal courts. Small to mid-sized U.S. Attorneys' Offices, located where large numbers of INS detainees are held, are experiencing large workload increases associated with immigration cases. Increases in immigration workload in recent years have resulted primarily from an increase in habeas corpus petitions filed by non-returnable or "post order" detention cases. In these cases, detainees have received an order of deportation, but cannot be removed because their country of origin will not accept them. Such litigation support efforts will facilitate the removal of detained aliens, a substantial number of whom are criminal aliens, and ensure that aliens ineligible for immigration benefits are appropriately identified and denied relief.