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< Back to current issue of Immigration Daily <Back to current issue of Immigrant's Weekly INS Fact Sheet October 17, 2000 INS ‘Global Reach’ Initiative Counters On June 17, 1997, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) opened 13 new overseas offices and assigned 45 additional officers to counter the threat of international trafficking in migrants as part of a new initiative called Operation Global Reach. For the first time, INS established a permanent presence of criminal investigators and intelligence analysts overseas to work on deterring migrant trafficking in source and transit countries. The Global Reach staff focuses on:
They also work with State Department officials to provide enhanced immigration services to qualified applicants in each host country. "Operation Global Reach" is an extension of the Administration’s strategy of combating illegal immigration through a new emphasis on deterrence, whether at the Southwest border or overseas. It gives INS an important new tool to help stem the flow of migrant trafficking at its very source. The 45 officers are supervised by the Office of International Affairs and the three INS overseas district offices in Rome, Bangkok and Mexico City. Since 1997, INS has created 13 new international offices and increased its presence in several of INS’ existing offices:
This initiative responds to the President’s 1995 directive for interagency efforts to combat migrant trafficking by organized crime syndicates. The United States is a primary destination of this traffic, which has grown dramatically in the post-Cold War years. Since 1995, in cooperation with the State Department, INS has launched numerous initiatives to encourage other countries to criminalize migrant trafficking and work cooperatively with U.S. law enforcement agencies and other regional partners to combat this serious problem. In addition, INS has undertaken special operations to test various deterrence methods in Latin American source and transit countries. Through eight phases, INS trained more than 8,000 host country officials and airline personnel in fraudulent document detection and intercepted more than 19,000 fraudulently documented aliens attempting to transit these countries to the United States. Global Reach expands on those efforts in targeted countries throughout the world. INS is very pleased that Congress has recognized the importance of INS’ work overseas and how this strengthened enforcement effort will complement our commitment to safe, legal and orderly migration. It is an effective use of resources to deter individuals from migrating illegally from abroad rather than apprehending and detaining them after they are here. The 45 officers completed an intensive three-week training course at a State Department facility in Virginia to build on their current expertise. They are all highly trained INS officers—many of whom already have overseas experience and speak two or more languages. All are trained to detect document fraud. – INS –  Share this page | Bookmark this page | Print this page |  Add to del.icio.us
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