§1103. Powers and duties

(a) Attorney General

The Attorney General shall be charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter and all other laws relating to the immigration and naturalization of aliens, except insofar as this chapter or such laws relate to the powers, functions, and duties conferred upon the President, the Secretary of State, the officers of the Department of State, or diplomatic or consular officers: Provided, however, That determination and ruling by the Attorney General with respect to all questions of law shall be controlling. He shall have control, direction, and supervision of all employees and of all the files and records of the Service. He shall establish such regulations; prescribe such forms of bond, reports, entries, and other papers; issue such instructions; and perform such other acts as he deems necessary for carrying out his authority under the provisions of this chapter. He may require or authorize any employee of the Service or the Department of Justice to perform or exercise any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this chapter or regulations issued thereunder upon any other employee of the Service. He shall have the power and duty to control and guard the boundaries and borders of the United States against the illegal entry of aliens and shall, in his discretion, appoint for that purpose such number of employees of the Service as to him shall appear necessary and proper. He is authorized to confer or impose upon any employee of the United States, with the consent of the head of the Department or other independent establishment under whose jurisdiction the employee is serving, any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this chapter or regulations issued thereunder upon officers or employees of the Service. He may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, establish offices of the Service in foreign countries; and, after consultation with the Secretary of State, he may, whenever in his judgment such action may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter, detail employees of the Service for duty in foreign countries.

(b) Commissioner; appointment

The Commissioner shall be a citizen of the United States and shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. He shall be charged with any and all responsibilities and authority in the administration of the Service and of this chapter which are conferred upon the Attorney General as may be delegated to him by the Attorney General or which may be prescribed by the Attorney General.

(c) Statistical information system

(1) The Commissioner, in consultation with interested academicians, government agencies, and other parties, shall provide for a system for collection and dissemination, to Congress and the public, of information (not in individually identifiable form) useful in evaluating the social, economic, environmental, and demographic impact of immigration laws.

(2) Such information shall include information on the alien population in the United States, on the rates of naturalization and emigration of resident aliens, on aliens who have been admitted, paroled, or granted asylum, on nonimmigrants in the United States (by occupation, basis for admission, and duration of stay), on aliens who have been excluded or deported from the United States, on the number of applications filed and granted for suspension of deportation, and on the number of aliens estimated to be present unlawfully in the United States in each fiscal year.

(3) Such system shall provide for the collection and dissemination of such information not less often than annually.

(d) Annual report

(1) The Commissioner shall submit to Congress annually a report which contains a summary of the information collected under subsection (c) of this section and an analysis of trends in immigration and naturalization.

(2) Each annual report shall include information on the number, and rate of denial administratively, of applications for naturalization, for each district office of the Service and by national origin group.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title I, §103, 66 Stat. 173 ; Oct. 24, 1988, Pub. L. 100–525, §9(c), 102 Stat. 2619 ; Nov. 29, 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, title I, §142, 104 Stat. 5004 .)

Amendments

1990-Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 101–649 added subsecs. (c) and (d).

1988-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–525, §9(c)(1), substituted "instructions" for "intructions" and amended fourth sentence generally. Prior to amendment, fourth sentence read as follows: "He is authorized, in accordance with the civil-service laws and regulations and the Classification Act of 1949, to appoint such employees of the Service as he deems necessary, and to delegate to them or to any officer or employee of the Department of Justice in his discretion any of the duties and powers imposed upon him in this chapter; he may require or authorize any employee of the Service or the Department of Justice to perform or exercise any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this chapter or regulations issued thereunder upon any other employee of the Service."

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–525, §9(c)(2), struck out provision that Commissioner was to receive compensation at rate of $17,500 per annum.

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–649 effective Oct. 1, 1991, and applicable beginning with fiscal year 1992, see section 161(a) of Pub. L. 101–649, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Machine-Readable Document Border Security Program

Pub. L. 100–690, title IV, §4604, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4289 , which required Department of State, United States Customs Service, and Immigration and Naturalization Service to develop a comprehensive machine-readable travel and identity document border security program that would improve border entry and departure control through automated data capture of machine-readable travel and identity documents, directed specified agencies and organizations to contribute law enforcement data for the system, authorized appropriations for the program, and required continuing full implementation in fiscal years 1990, 1991, and 1992, by all participating agencies, was repealed by Pub. L. 102–583, §6(e)(1), Nov. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 4933 .

Immigration and Naturalization Service Personnel Enhancement

Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §7350, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4473 , provided that:

"(a) Pilot Program Regarding the Identification of Certain Aliens.-

"(1) Within 6 months after the effective date of this subtitle [Nov. 18, 1988], the Attorney General shall establish, out of funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (c)(2), a pilot program in 4 cities to improve the capabilities of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 'Service') to respond to inquiries from Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities concerning aliens who have been arrested for or convicted of, or who are the subject of any criminal investigation relating to, a violation of any law relating to controlled substances (other than an aggravated felony as defined in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)], as added by section 7342 of this subtitle).

"(2) At the end of the 12-month period after the establishment of such pilot program, the Attorney General shall provide for an evaluation of its effectiveness, including an assessment by Federal, State, and local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies. The Attorney General shall submit a report containing the conclusions of such evaluation to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate within 60 days after the completion of such evaluation.

"(b) Hiring of Investigative Agents.-

"(1) Any investigative agent hired by the Attorney General for purposes of this section shall be employed exclusively to assist Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies in combating drug trafficking and crimes of violence by aliens.

"(2) Any investigative agent hired under this section who is older than 35 years of age shall not be eligible for Federal retirement benefits made available to individuals who perform hazardous law enforcement activities."

Pilot Program To Establish or Improve Computer Capabilities

Pub. L. 99–570, title I, §1751(e), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–48 , provided that:

"(1) From the sums appropriated to carry out this Act, the Attorney General, through the Investigative Division of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, shall provide a pilot program in 4 cities to establish or improve the computer capabilities of the local offices of the Service and of local law enforcement agencies to respond to inquiries concerning aliens who have been arrested or convicted for, or are the subject to criminal investigation relating to, a violation of any law relating to controlled substances. The Attorney General shall select cities in a manner that provides special consideration for cities located near the land borders of the United States and for large cities which have major concentrations of aliens. Some of the sums made available under the pilot program shall be used to increase the personnel level of the Investigative Division.

"(2) At the end of the first year of the pilot program, the Attorney General shall provide for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program and shall report to Congress on such evaluation and on whether the pilot program should be extended or expanded."

Emergency Plans for Regulation of Nationals of Enemy Countries

Attorney General to develop national security emergency plans for regulation of immigration, regulation of nationals of enemy countries, and plans to implement laws for control of persons entering or leaving the United States, see section 1101(4) of Ex. Ord. No. 12656, Nov. 18, 1988, 53 F.R. 47491, set out as a note under section 2251 of Title 50, Appendix, War and National Defense.

Cross References

Bond or undertaking as prerequisite to issuance of visas to aliens with certain physical disabilities or likely to become public charges, see section 1201 of this title.

Definition of alien, Attorney General, Commissioner, consular officer, entry, immigration laws, and Service, see section 1101 of this title.

Office of Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, see section 1552 of this title.