The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was a major blunder.  President George Bush was correct to initially oppose its creation.  Nothing in DHS or the break-up of the immigration enforcement responsibility into three major components was an improvement over the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

In fact, things got much worse.  This writer addressed the issue years ago when other RINOs were seeking to codify the illegal changes George Bush made when DHS was created and make the current situation with immigration enforcement spread over three components, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). [RINOs Rush To Legitimize The Obama Regime Administrative Amnesty, by Federale, Federale Blog, August 7, 2014]

Unfortunately, RINO Bob Goodlatte, has decided that the current haphazard, inefficient, and broken immigration enforcement system has to be codified.  Essentially Goodlatte is making statutory the failed current system of immigration law enforcement, and the ongoing fraud amnesty that USCIS is currently administering on behalf of illegal aliens engaged in fraudulent applications.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today introduced two bills to authorize and reauthorize key immigration component agencies at the Department of Homeland Security to ensure our nation’s immigration laws are enforced, and maintain the generosity and integrity of America’s legal immigration system.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Authorization Act (H.R. 2406) authorizes ICE for the first time in law and ensures its core mission is the enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws. Notably, the bill makes targeted reforms to both Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) within ICE to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness. It also codifies the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE), an office created by the Trump Administration to provide access to information and resources to victims of crimes committed by removable aliens as well as to the families of victims.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2407) reauthorizes the agency, which is tasked with processing immigrant and nonimmigrant benefits petitions for those seeking temporary visas, lawful permanent residence, international adoption, and others. USCIS also adjudicates naturalization applications and manages the E-Verify system.

[Goodlatte Introduces Bills to Authorize and Reform Key Immigration Agencies, by Beth Breeding, Press Release, Office of Bob Goodlatte, May 11, 2017]

Nothing in either authorization act provides real reforms, but merely give statutory authorization to changes Bush made administratively to what was actually created by the Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, the Bureau of Border Protection (BBP).  While the envisioned BBP was inferior to the organization of the legacy INS, it mixed customs and immigration enforcement, but it did keep all immigration enforcement and benefits in one component.  However, as George Bush was opposed to immigration enforcement, the creation of ICE and the subsequent bifurcation of immigration enforcement in ICE into what was first the Office of Investigations and Detention and Removal Operations, was by design, a design to make immigration enforcement less efficient and effective, which it was immediately successful at.  The situation only became worse when the sub-components were renamed Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).  Even the bad word "deportation" was removed to make it a more politically correct agency.

HSI immediately developed its own culture of avoiding immigration law enforcement.  The agency culture that developed over the Bush and Obama years was that they did not get involved in arresting illegal aliens.  They became instead ICE Special Victims Unit (ICE SVU).  Today ICE SVU continues to resist immigration enforcement and despite orders from Secretary John Kelly and President Donald Trump, ICE SVU continues the policy of "catch-and-release" for illegal aliens.  Unlike ERO, it even requires that the Special Agents in ICE SVU get permission from ICE attorneys at the Office of the Principle Legal Advisor (OPLA) before they can arrest an illegal alien.  Can you imagine if a local police officer could not make an arrest without the permission of not only a supervisor, but the Department's attorneys as well?  Arrests and enforcement of laws would collapse, and that is ICE SVU's plan, make no arrests, especially of illegal aliens!  And Bob Goodlatte wants to codify that ongoing amnesty for illegal aliens in law.

Worse yet, Goodlatte wants to codify and extend the failed USCIS into law as well.  USCIS is actively hostile to enforcing immigration law and preventing fraud, but open to supporting Muslim terrorists and refugees.  USCIS bureaucrats have provided benefits to terrorists, sabotaged Trump policies, and acted to thwart other DHS agencies in fighting terrorism. Their adjudicators and Office of Chief Counsel attorneys regularly interfere with fraud investigations and determinations to the benefit of those aliens committing fraud.  Note that none of the USCIS employees who aided the San Bernardino terrorists have been fired or prosecuted.  That is not something to reward, but Bob Goodlatte wants to do that.  This writer suggested reorganizing and toughening up USCIS by changing its culture and behavior, but Bob Goodlatte ignored that good advice.  [Taming U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services, by Federale, Federale Blog, December 17, 2016]

And it gets even worse—Secretary John Kelly is seeking to reorganize DHS and at the top of his list should be combining the four immigration enforcement sub-components of DHS, HSI, ERO, USCIS, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  Four immigration sub-components of DHS are wasteful.  Each has its own duplicative programs and offices, especially those dedicated to management, personnel, technology, and offices of counsel.  Instead of four personnel systems and administrators, management offices, technology, and counsel, much less the agency heads, a reorganization would save hundreds of millions by removing duplicative effort and employees, save millions on by establishing on technology and computer system.  This writer suggested those reforms as well.  [Trump Orders Government Reorganization, Start With DHS, by Federale, Federale Blog, May 6, 2017]

President Trump and Secretary Kelly should reject RINO Goodlatte's effort to codify the duplicative and incompetence in ICE and USCIS, and instead act to reform the DHS immigration components, creating one face to the public on immigration issues, both enforcement and benefits.  Kelly and Trump should act to remove those in DHS who support fraud and terrorists, remove those with a bad attitude to arresting illegal aliens, and create a new immigration agency by eliminating the current cornucopia of agencies.  The most aggressive managers from the U.S. Border Patrol and ERO should be the new leaders, setting the example for others, encouraging those who are not with the program to leave or be run over.