Congress abolishes the INS and moves immigration enforcement into DHS after 9/11

On March 1, 2003, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was formally abolished and its functions transferred to the newly created Department of Homeland Security under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Enforcement went to ICE and CBP while adjudication remained under DOJ through the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The reorganization intensified enforcement and permanently reframed immigration as a national security matter, creating a structural split that would widen the gap between enforcement capacity and adjudication funding.