T5 B64 Gao Visa Docs 1 Of 6 Fdr- 3-24-03 Gao Memo Re Ins Transition To Dhs 518

9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy

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Merrio: Teleconference with Cathy Muhletaler, INS attorney liaison Siibject: INS transition to Department of Homeland Security pate; March 24, 2003 I spoke with Cathy Muhletaler to see if she could shed light on which divisions of the old INS weretransferred to which bureaus in the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She said that she did not have a organizational plan to give me for INS or DHS because everything is still in flux. However, she was able to tell me that the old INS has been broken lip into three bureaus: \. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP). Customs is taking the ; lead with this bureau, although all Border Patrol and Inspections divisions from \e old INS are being folded into BCBP. The inspectors at the airport who process \g passengers will be part of BCBP. 2. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). This bureau \s the service divisions of the old INS — the asylum unit, the naturalization unit, the adjudication and examination unit, and the service centers. Anything that requires ''$. processing of applications, whether it is for green cards, change of \s forins, petitions, etc. will go through BCIS, B. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE). The old INS is \g the lead with this bureau (as Customs took the lead with BCBP). This \u includes all enforcement activity — for example] |s National \y Investigations unit, the enforcement part of Inspections, detention processing, deportation and rembyal processing. Ms. Muhletaler did not know which Bureau] is Lookout Unit would go into. She said that when she talked to| ' ' flast week evenf Idid not know which Bureau she was in.l Ititle is "Inspector" so there is a possibility that she will be jn the BCBP, although Ms. Muhletaler agreed that this would seem odd since some of| [s mission is involved with enforcement. Ms. Muhletaler said that the heads of all three of these bureaus will report to Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security (BTS), which is a division of DHS. Ms. Muhletaler said that the old INS' Office of General Counsel (her group) will be serving both BCIS and BICE. Ms. Muhletaler reiterated that all organization charts are in flux right now and that DHS has told old INS employees that they should not expect that organizational charts will be finalized until the fall of 2003.