Understanding U.S. Immigration History: From INS to ICE- Middle School

If you follow the news or scroll on social media, you will quickly realize that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is one of the most talked about and argued about groups in the government. This isn't for no reason.

To understand why ICE exists and why people have such strong feelings about it today, we have to look back at history. Specifically, we have to look at the agency that came before it: the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service).

The story of how the INS turned into ICE shows how America shifted from treating immigration as a workforce issue to treating it as a national security issue.

The INS (1933–2003)

For 70 years, a single government department handled almost everything to do with immigration: the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

When the INS was created in 1933, it was actually placed in the Department of Labor. This was because the government viewed immigration mostly as an economic topic. To them, immigration was only about people coming to work jobs. Later, during World War II, it was moved to the Department of Justice because of wartime security concerns.

The biggest problem with the INS was that it had been given two completely opposite jobs:

1. Helping immigrants by processing their Green Cards, giving citizenship tests, and welcoming new citizens.

2. Policing the borders, tracking down people who broke immigration rules, and deporting them.

September 11, 2001

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government decided it needed to completely change how it protected the country.

Congress realized that having one single agency handle both the helpful "customer service" side of immigration and the harsh "national security" side was not working.

In 2002, Congress passed a law that officially ended the INS. To replace it, they created a brand-new, massive department called the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

To solve the old identity crisis, the government split the old INS duties into three separate agencies:

• USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services): the helpful "service" job (citizenship and Green Cards)

• CBP (Customs and Border Protection): guarding the actual borders and airports

• ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement): enforcing immigration laws inside the country.

Why is this History Relevant to You Today?

The decisions made after 9/11 are the exact reason immigration is such a hot topic in the news right now.

The Debate Over ICE's Mission

Because ICE was created during a time of fear after 9/11, it was built to look and act like a counter-terrorism law enforcement agency. Therefore, ICE was created for the purpose of being intimidating.

• Many people argue that treating immigrants like security threats has led to overly harsh enforcement, separating families, and fear in local communities. This has led to protests and calls to change how the agency works.

• Others argue that ICE is absolutely necessary to keep the country safe, pointing to their work stopping international crimes, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.

Differing Political Priorities

Under the old INS, the focus was often on deporting people who had committed serious crimes. Today, because ICE is a highly funded and powerful police force, different presidents use it in very different ways. One president might tell ICE to only focus on dangerous criminals, while the next president might tell ICE to try to deport anyone who is undocumented which creates big differences in how the law is enforced.

A Lack of Trust

Even though the government separated the helpful agency (USCIS) from the enforcement agency (ICE), they are still part of the same big department (DHS). Because of this, many immigrants are still afraid that if they apply for a legal Green Card with USCIS, they might accidentally put themselves on ICE's radar to be deported.