Federal Immigration Administration (USE)
| U.S. Federal Immigration Administration | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Motto | "Protecting National Security and Upholding Public Safety" |
| Agency overview | |
| Preceding agency |
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| Employees | 20,000+ (2016) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | United States of Elisia |
| Specialist jurisdictions |
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| Operational structure | |
| Parent agency | Department of the Interior |
| Website | |
| fia.gov.use | |
The Federal Immigration Administration is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior. The stated mission of the FIA is to protect the nation and the states from cross-border crimes and illegal immigration. The FIA was authorized by Article One, Section Eight of the U.S Constitution, which defined such enumerated power as to permit Congress to regulate naturalization rules for persons to become US Citizens. This power was first exercised soon after the ratification of the Constitution, establishing that no loyalist was to be permitted to hold citizenship within the union, and that they had committed treason and ordered their subsequent prosecution. A federal naturalization agency would arrive in the next century years after the establishment of naturalization rules, prior to this being handled by an office of the Executive Branch.
The FIA in its current form was established in XXXX following the approval of the Senate for reorganization of already-established agencies. The FIA is a merger of both the NBE and the Customs Service, combining both criminal law enforcement capacities and investigative capacities. The mission of the FIA is handled exclusively through federal laws, however, the FIA has in the past assisted states with enforcement of certain applicable local laws as requested by the receiving state. There are more than 400 federal laws covering such broad topics as naturalization requirements, immigration enforcement, terrorism, customs violations and combating the illegal movement of people and goods, excluding human and sex trafficking, which falls under the NPA.
The FIA has multiple distinct operations used to carry out its mission: Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Domestic Security Investigations (DSI), Naturalization & Verification Operations (NVO) and Excise Enforcement Operations (EEO). Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which primarily deals with the deportation and removal of undocumented immigrants, is among the most public and contentious function of the FIA. ERO maintains the custodial facilities used to detain people that are illegally present in the United States. In interior offices, ERO officers primarily conduct targeted enforcement operations to apprehend aliens engaged in serious criminal activity.
History
Organization
Immigration Law
The Immigration Controls Act is the main framework for federal immigration law in the US. Historically, federal law on immigration has had a highly restricted application due to Supreme Court rulings such as X v. X which prohibit the government from infringing on the states' right to enforce laws, including immigration law. One of the most powerful aspects of the ICA is on citizenship, which is a reserved power to the federal government, and cannot be utilized by the states unless Congress delegates such authority. This power was challenged on multiple occasions, with one of the most notable being X v. X before the Supreme Court citing that Congress could not prohibit states from imposing requirements, restrictions or not accepting or recognizing US citizenships under certain conditions due to states rights. The court, in a near-unanimous majority, sided with the law, upholding one of the most fundamental parts of immigration law, which is still in effect today.
ERO Detention Centers
Attempted Expansion of Powers
In 2005, President Aaron Warner signed an executive order aiming to expand the powers of the FIA without congressional oversight. He cited at the time that the "FIA was hampered by their statutory restrictions, and after a conversation with Director Jeffrey Moreland, I discussed with my Interior Secretary on what we could do to make the agency as effective as possible." The FIA under the order was granted the broad authority to conduct road enforcement, checking for persons' immigration statuses. Critics cited that this was an unconstitutional breach of states' rights, and cited that the NPA was more than capable of conducting said enforcement themselves. One critic [NAME HERE] said: "I think this action was a test to see how far they could stretch past the line of constitutionality before the courts started fighting." The order was ultimately taken to the Supreme Court later that year in X v. X, where the court unanimously ruled that the order was a blatant violation of the separation of powers and stipulated that any changes that are to be made to any authority shall be done "in concurrence with Congress."
When the Nationalists Party won the 2008 election with a supermajority (a majority in both houses and the executive), they moved to ratify similar changes to the executive order, however, went even broader, prohibiting states from being able to enforce any immigration law themselves, local or federal, and prohibited FIA agents from being able to request local assistance, citing the enumerated powers under the Constitution permitting it. This law, named the Immigration Stops Here Act, would later be heard by the Supreme Court on its constitutionality, with portions of it being struck down, citing that they were in conflict with Article Seven, Section Two, Clause Two of the Constitution. Those sections specifically pertained to states' rights, with the Supreme Court leaving the remainder of the law up, including the prohibition on local assistance. The ISHA would remain in effect until the next elections, when the Nationalists Party would lose heavily due to their agenda being widely unpopular with the states, and with many people in the south. A version of the ISHA would be drafted by the Senate during the economic crisis citing that immigrants were the reason for this crisis, and the Supreme Court "wanted to keep us sitting" however that bill would ultimately fail to receive the necessary votes to make it to ratification.