INS Letter Invoking IIRIRA Transitional Period Custody Rules
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman,
Pursuant to authority delegated to me by the Attorney General, 28 C.F.R. section 0.105, I am writing to provide the notification specified by section 303(b)(2) of the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), Pub. L. No. 104-208, and thereby to invoke for FY 98 the Transition Period Custody Rules set forth in IIRAIRA section 303(b)(3).
I have made the statutory determinations in recognition of the following facts: (1) that the notification must cover the entirety of the succeeding 1-year period; (2) that Immigration and Naturalization (INS) detention space is mainly used for the detention of criminal aliens, but must also be used for mandatory detention, inter alia, of aliens subject to expedited removal or subject to final orders of removal (in addition to critical non-mandatory detention for border and interior enforcement; (3) that the provisions of IIRAIRA and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), Pub. L. No. 104-132, affecting criminal aliens have drawn numerous legal challenges, thus introducing an element of uncertainty regarding detention needs over the coming tear; and (4) that detention requirements can change suddenly based on factors beyond the control of the Department of Justice or the INS, as in the case of large-scale influx.
Based on the foregoing, I hereby notify the Committee that there is insufficient space and INS personnel available to carry out section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 303(a) of the 1996 Act, or by amendments made by section 440(c) of the AEDPA, throughout the coming year.
I assure you that the detention and removal of criminal aliens from the United States remain among my highest priorities, and that the INS will administer the Transition Period Custody Rules provided by section 303(b)(3) of the 1996 Act in a manner fully consistent with these objectives.
Sincerely,
Doris Meissner
Commissioner
cc: The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.