R.I.P.: INS.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Loathed by Congress, feared by immigrants, scorned by employers and mocked by late-night television comedians, the old Immigration and Naturalization Service came to an official end on March 1. And not one day too soon.

A few dedicated veterans of the old INS will mourn its passing. But few others will shed any tears over Congress' long-overdue decision to dismantle the agency, created in 1891, and transfer its duties to the new Department of Homeland Security.

It's evidence of the INS's epic inefficiency and incompetence that the new Homeland Security Department absorbed other agencies intact but that Congress, justifiably outraged by the agency's mega-blunders after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, took a legislative blowtorch to the agency as if it were a jalopy that had been hauled to the scrap yard.

INS functions now will be spread among three new homeland security agencies: The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol. It's a promising arrangement that should help do away with many of the contradictions that have long plagued the INS.

It took the belated mailings of visa approval notices for two Sept. 11 hijackers to prod Congress into breaking up the INS - a move that had the full backing of an angry, embarrassed President Bush. But the INS had long been the most dysfunctional agency in the federal government. Complaints about long lines, bad service and inefficiencies have long been routine in Oregon and elsewhere across the nation, as have allegations of unfair and harsh treatment of foreigners.

The break-up addressed one of the inherent flaws of the INS - that it was torn between two conflicting missions: keeping illegal immigrants out of the country by guarding borders and dealing with legal immigrants. It also removed the agency from the jurisdiction of the Justice Department, which did an abysmal job of overseeing it, and shifted its functions to the new Homeland Security agency, which is under the direction of Tom Ridge.

But Ridge and Congress must not be fooled into thinking that splitting the agency is all that's necessary. They must now work together to find a way to better integrate the INS with other federal agencies and to modernize the agency's monumentally outdated technology.

The most important change will be a thorough revamping of this nation's fundamentally flawed immigration laws. More than 7 million illegal immigrants are living in the United States, and their work and economic contributions are essential to this nation's economy. Yet they are trapped in a legal no-man's land, with no legal rights or protections. The laws must be changed to reflect the economic realities and to give these immigrants an opportunity to earn legalized status.

At the same time, Congress and Homeland Security officials must also address terrorism concerns and the necessity of keeping out the bad guys who would do this nation harm, while keeping the door open to the good guys who want to come here legally to work, study and, in some cases, to remain and become citizens. Achieving a clear national consensus on such reforms will be a formidable task - but one essential to creating an efficient, effective immigration system.

For the time being, the public will see few differences. Contrary to rumors, the change will not mean an expiration of green cards or sudden changes in immigrants' status. Nor will there be immediate changes in the offices and buildings where immigration matters are handled; employees have even been instructed to continue using INS badges, credentials and letterheads.

True, substantive change - and with it, clarity of purpose and operational effectiveness - will take time. But that process began with the decision to terminate the hopelessly broken agency known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service.