ADMISSIBILITY OF PEOPLE AT U.S. BORDERS

Border Inspections (monthly data)

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The immigration of people is always associated with certain modes of transportaion. Therefore, security at border crossings and ports of entry is not only a concern of immigration, but also a concern of transportation. Individuals seeking entry into the United States are inspected at ports-of-entry by immigration inspectors who determine their admissibility.

Admissions include individuals who make multiple entries. The inadmissible persons include aliens referred to secondary inspection who withdraw, are refused entry, are paroled in, or are referred to an Immigration Judge for a removal hearing. Generally, aliens present in the United States without having been admitted or paroled are considered inadmissible. Any alien who has incited terrorist activity, or is a representative/member of a group designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization is inadmissible.

Each year,the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) experiences a seasonal decline in total inspections in September when compared to the peak months of July and August. However, the September decline in 2001 is due to the drop in traffic at ports of entry following the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

NOTE: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.

SOURCE: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, available at: http://www.ins.gov/graphics/aboutins/statistics/index.htm.