Prescription for the INS: Speed and Civility Too : With a shake-up on, the human element shouldn’t be lost

The decision of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to tighten background checks on applicants for citizenship is a good but only partial solution for the problem-plagued agency. Yes, applicants with criminal records should be screened out. Yes, political charges that the INS accelerated the citizenship process to get more voters on the rolls for the 1996 election--flatly denied by INS officials--should be investigated. And yes, this is the time to revamp and energize INS operations.

Many of the problems begin, no surprise, with money. But costs have already gone beyond funding itself. For instance, the system overhaul now underway has caused a delay for this month’s scheduled swearing-in ceremonies for new citizens in Southern California. That is unfortunate but unavoidable.

What motivated the shake-up in the agency was not the justified complaints of inefficiency and the snail-like pace of the naturalization process. The move to overhaul was triggered by the charge that in the rush to process a record number of applications, citizenship sometimes was granted before the FBI had finished its job of checking its fingerprint files on each applicant for possible past criminal activity.

Meanwhile, some prominent Republicans had accused the INS of lowering standards to grant citizenship to newcomers who allegedly would boost the Democratic Party vote in the November election. The basis for the accusation was a program called Citizenship USA, which was launched by President Clinton in 1995. Its aim was to speed up naturalizations and reduce the processing time for citizenship from two years to approximately six months. INS officials deny any political motives in Citizenship USA and claim no shortcuts were taken.

The law says that only people with “good moral character” and without “a criminal past” can become citizens, and that covers crimes committed in the United States or in countries of origin. The INS admits that some immigrants with criminal backgrounds have slipped through the safeguards and obtained citizenship improperly. The question is how many, and how to avoid future lapses. Of the 1.2 million immigrants naturalized over the past year, Republican accusers charge that as many as 100,000 had criminal records. The INS says its records show only a few hundred immigrants, who come to the United States from Europe, Asia, Latin America and every other corner of the world, have criminal records.

Under the former INS policy, the naturalization process could commence within two months of application if the FBI had not reported any problems. The period was subsequently extended to four months. Now, the INS says, no prospective citizen can become an American until the FBI specifically declares that the candidate has a clean record. Furthermore, officials say, the record of anyone naturalized since September 1995 will be rechecked, and those with a criminal past may face revocation of their citizenship.

We applaud the promised investigatory efforts. Meanwhile, can we put in a pitch for a little American-style civility as well? For any immigrant who has bounced around the INS hallways and offices, a smiling face and pleasant manner would be almost as welcome as the first Pledge of Allegiance. If the problem is understaffing, could it be solved by drawing at least a minimal number of officers from the recently ballooned immigration interdiction effort? Citizenship is hard-earned, and those who are on the path to achieving it should be granted the same treatment that Americans traditionally have demanded.