How does the federal government deport aliens?
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) are separate agencies within the Department of Justice (DOJ). Both are responsible for the removal of illegal aliens and criminal aliens residents from the United States. The INS has the responsibility of apprehending and bringing immigration charges against aliens. The EOIR consists of the nationwide United States Immigration Court system and its appellate component, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in Falls Church, Virginia. In Immigration Court proceedings, the INS plays the role of the prosecuting agency, while the Immigration Judges of the EOIR play the role of judge. Cases are appealed to the eighteen-member BIA, and then to the federal circuit courts of appeal. The process of seeing one illegal alien or criminal resident alien through Immigration Court hearings and the two-stage appeal process frequently lasts years, prolonging any final decision on deportation. As the E
