District Director of Portland, Oregon INS Resigns
Posted Nov 17, 2000

Many media reports over the past year expressed alarm over the inspections procedures and requirements at the Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon. Most of these reports involved incidents where legitimate business people, mainly from Japan and other Asian countries, were not allowed into the U.S. We have now learned that INS also conducted its own investigation and found the INS Inspectors at Portland to be confrontational and improperly supervised.

The only airline with direct flights between Tokyo, Japan and Portland, Oregon, canceled its flights in reaction to the problems with INS inspectors in Portland and complaints from the airline's customers. Congressional representatives and the Mayor of Portland were also of the opinion that the unwelcome stance of INS Inspectors cost the city a significant amount of business.

The INS District Director for Portland resigned on September 19, 2000, as a result of the media publicity and allegations of his officers and staff at the Portland Airport having caused a loss of several million dollars to the economy of Portland. We trust that this incident has now resulted in the INS providing additional training to Inspectors there and elsewhere on INS rules and legal requirements. Besides fulfilling the duties under the law, INS inspectors are also generally the first point of contact for visitors and others entering the U.S. from foreign travel, from all over the world and their attitude makes a difference in the perception of those who enter the U.S.

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