Vernon Ehlers: “I rise to commend the subcommittee for generously increasing funding in the Immigration and Naturalization Service…”

“I rise to commend the subcommittee for generously increasing funding in the Immigration and Naturalization Service budget so this new agency can hire new inspectors to serve at our Nation's airports. While I am supportive of this increase, I am concerned about the disparity of INS inspector staffing that exists between the New York Metropolitan Airport relative to other airports. Detroit Metro Airport desperately needs additional inspectors. The INS has not kept up with the great increase of passengers at this booming airport, and has let the number of staff at Detroit decrease relative to other international airports. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport has 2.1 million inspections per year with 78 inspectors on staff. Both Dallas Fort Worth and Dulles International Airports each have 2 million inspections each year, with 78 and 74 inspectors on staff respectively. In comparison, Detroit Metro Airport has 1.8 million inspections per year with only 47 inspectors. Relative to other major airports, Detroit inspectors have to process almost 40 percent more people per inspector. Clearly the INS has understaffed the Detroit Metro Airport.”