The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS)" ...
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Endgame: The Fugitive Chase
United States immigration authorities have lost track of nearly half a million people who ignore deportation orders and remain at large in the U.S. Endgame is the name of the federal plan to clear the nation by 2012 of every person that has been ordered deported.
Tags: immigration; illegal immigrants; deportation; Immigration and Enforcement officers; Immigration and Naturalization Services
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INS Moves to Plug Student Visa Leaks; New Tracking System Won't Work Without Enforcement, Critics Say
The INS system for keeping tabs on foreign students is riddled with errors and, for all practical purposes, nonexistent. There is no way of knowing whether students are actually attending schools or whether they have simply disappeared into America; many schools students apply to attend are actually defunct. The Washington Post exposed this problem and showed how it can be a risk to homeland security.
Tags: Immigration and Naturalization Services; terrorism; student visas; foreign students; tracking
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Homeland security
A CBS 60 Minutes' investigation reveals that the Immigration and Naturalization Service is "afflicted by a culture of mismanagement and corruption." A whistleblower says the agency's executives encouraged inspectors to allow foreigners in the U.S. without looking up their names in terrorist watch lists. Although the INS officially refuted the information, the whistleblower's statement has been confirmed by other employees.
Tags: terrorists; immigrants; foreigners; visas; Sept. 11; 9/11; Al Qaeda; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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Child immigrants worked on line at chicken plant
The Herald-Leader reports on the use of child labor in processing plants in Kentucky and nationwide. The story reveals that as young as 12-year-old children have been hired by Cagle's Keystone Foods. The same practices are common also at Tyson plants in Arkansas and Missouri. The children, who in most cases had entered the country illegally, showed fake IDs and looked older, the plant managers explained. The article reports that, according to the U.S. Labor Department, many chicken processing plants are aware of the fake identities of their immigrant workers. Most plants have policies of recruiting illegal immigrants in the Southwestern border area and even in Mexico.
Tags: illegal immigration; labor; Hispanic; Clinton County; Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS)
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INS fails to see the light
The National Law Journal reports on how the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has been denying detained aliens the right to hear a presentation about their legal options from a group of New York lawyers. "Under rules promulgated in 1998, the lawyers should have been able to do so, but were stymied for a year and half, even as the agency proudly announced the expansion of the legal access program to federal prisons and county jails," the story reveals.
Tags: American Bar Association; human rights; civic rights; legal counsel; detainees; deportation
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Admitting Terror
In a five-part investigative series New Times discovers that Mohamed Atta, one of the key players in the September 11 terrorist attacks, was improperly admitted into the country. Norman reveals that immigration inspectors are often leery to enforce federal law against illegal aliens, and exposes "a culture that values facilitation of air travel over law enforcement." INS failed to monitor the departure of U.S. visitors, to maintain a database with names of suspected terrorists, and to enforce laws against visitors' overstays. At INS customer service has become a top priority, even though inspectors have warned of the terrorist threat, New Times reports. The stories shed light on several cases in 1990s when terrorist were admitted into the U.S. without any scrutiny. "The disturbing result is that the INS has become a laughingstock among even moderately sophisticated terrorists."
Tags: Whistleblower Act; illegal aliens; Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Miami International Airport; Federal Aviation Administration; classified; visas; ID; airlines
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Terrorism Series
Newsweek investigates the global reach of the terrorist network Al Qaeda, how its "cell" structure worked, how it laundered money and how its leader Osama bin Laden attempted to obtain weapons of mass destruction. The first part of the series, published in February 2001, predicts that the threat posed by bin Laden is growing. The second one, two weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, reveals details of a possible 20th hijacker involved in the tragedy. Some of the online stories examine possible links between the WTC suspects and USS Cole bombers, and reveal that FBI has identified more than 1,000 people with suspected terrorist ties inside the U.S. The series documents "numerous intelligence and policy failures that kept U.S. authorities from detecting the terror plot being hatched under their noses."
Tags: Hamas; Islamic Jihad; Al Qaeda; Hizbullah; Chechnya; Indonesia; Palestine; Afghanistan; Lebanon; intelligence; CIA; Islam; Muslims; National Security Agency; FBI; Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Arabs; Israel; mujahedin; Cole bombing; money laundering
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Special report: Forced labor in America
This U.S.A Today investigative series reports on domestic worker abuse. The investigation compiles information on more than 140 cases of hidden exploitation. The main finding is that the private home is becoming the modern-day version of a sweatshop. The first part of the series reveals that "many immigrants hired to work as nannies and maids in the United States are instead being forced into virtual bondage, where some are beaten, barred from leaving and denied basic medical care." The victims' status is often illegal, and they are afraid to disclose the abuse for fear of being deported. Statistics quoted in the stories show that immigrant live-ins are generally paid much below minimum wages. The second part of the series looks at the uncertain justice that victims receive, and depicts their difficulties to achieve emotional recovery and financial independence.
Tags: immigrants; immigration; domestic work; foreign-born residents; Justice Department; Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Human Rights Watch; lawyers; sexual assault; visas; police; courts; international organizations; CAR
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Border Games
The National Journal examines the efforts of the federal government to stop illegal immigration from Mexico, which "have produced one of Washington's most challenging policy dilemmas." The story reports that, despite the billions of dollars spent by the government to curb illegal immigration, "the latest Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) estimates stand at 5 million, while other projections put the figure as high as 11 million." The article reveals that illegal immigrants keep on finding cracks in the wall. The author cites experts who look at the possibility for the U.S.A. to implement a "kind of Marshall Plan for Latin America" in order to create new jobs and opportunities, and to increase purchasing of U.S. products. Another suggested approach is to open more channels for legal entry.
Tags: border patrol; smuggling; Hispanic; Federation for American Immigration Reform; National Immigration Forum; Labor Department; wages; employment; economics; El Salvador; Guatemala; Canada; Haiti
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A Man's Asylum Fight in the Land of the Free, Judge's Behavior Sparks Outrage but Little Relief, Few Applicants Succeed in Immigration Courts
These articles address the cases of two political refugees who seek asylum in the U.S. and their trials at the hands of the INS and the U.S. Immigration Court. There are no written standards for immigration judges. In these stories, Judge Thomas M. Ragno decides a Sudanese refugee is not Catholic because the man did not what parochial schools were (there are none in Sudan). The refugee spends three years in jail before his case is overturned. Myanmar activist Tialhei Zathang still waits on an appeal trial after Judge Joan V. Churchill decides he is an Indian citizen, despite the testimony of U.S. professors and Myanmar parliament members who support him.
Tags: immigration; asylum; refugees; misconduct; "reasonable fear" ruling by the Supreme Court versus interpreted by Immigration Judges; due process; deportation; Immigration and Naturalization Service.