There’s a battle being waged within the Bush administration about blanket application of the new Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regulations to all foreign nationals in the United States, according to State Department sources.
This is contrary to concerns within the Indian-American community that India may be the next country to be singled out on the heels of Pakistan and Bangladesh, whose nationals would have to get fingerprinted and interviewed by the INS by Feb. 21.
Senior State Department officials speaking to News India-Times confirmed that President George W. Bush’s National Security Council has proposed the new INS regulations tracking those entering or leaving the U.S. be applied to all countries.
“There is a debate going on. It is not singling out India, but there is consideration being given to extending these regulations to all countries. Except, of course, those that do not require visas,” an official told News India-Times on condition of anonymity.
This would exclude Europe and a few other countries, despite the fact that several of the alleged terrorist masterminds had based themselves in Britain and Germany.
Some Indian Americans are concerned their relatives and friends may become subject to new INS registration regulations soon, but they are not the only ones who need be concerned, going by the statements coming from the administration.
“I have not heard anything, anywhere, nor seen any piece of paper that says India is next on that (partial) list,” said one official. “As I understand it, it’s blanket.”
“There is a debate going on. It is not singling out India, but there is consideration being given to extending these regulations to all countries...”
Statements by Bush administration officials have hinted that the regulations could apply in a blanket manner.
During a State Department press briefing on Jan. 22, spokesperson Richard Boucher said the rules were not targeting any particular country. “Bangladeshis shouldn’t feel singled out, nor should Pakistanis, nor should others. And gradually, it will be applied broader and broader to people of many, many nationalities,” he said.
The INS has been indicating over the last few months that the new regulations were meant to track all visitors and foreign nationals in the country but that it would be gradually applied.
“I have seen nothing in anything I’ve read that India is even on any suggested (partial) list,” the official speaking to News India-Times added. “They don’t have many of the ‘bad guys’ here who are from India. Internationally also, there are none from India. That’s compelling,” he added.
“But the debate has aroused explosive feelings in different parts of the administration. Some are rigorously opposed (to the blanket application). That battle is being waged now,” he added.
Boucher pointed out in his briefing that many countries have a reporting system for foreigners. “We have talked over the last several months about the need for the U.S. to have some system that lets us know who’s in our country and where they’re going and what they’re doing on a periodic basis... Many countries have this kind of system.”
The regulations are part of the Immigration Act but had not been activated, says the INS. Boucher pointed out that the new system would not be as strict as those in countries where foreigners have to report every night. “So it’s not quite a system like that, but it is a system so that we can have a way of knowing who’s in our country. And it’s been part of U.S. law and something that’s being implemented now on a progressive basis,” he explained.
