Last week Congress began to take up the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations but now we have the details of the proposed legislation and it is much worse than we had expected. The proposed House bill would likely create what amounts to a national identification card, drastically curtail basic fairness in the nation’s immigration system and expand government powers under the PATRIOT Act.
Although the original purpose of the bill was intelligence reform, the current version includes several provisions that were not included in the 9/11 Commission recommendations but have been long been priorities for the hard-line anti-immigration lobby.
For example, several provisions of the legislation would drastically overhaul the current law to deny immigrants basic judicial review over unfair, arbitrary or otherwise abusive deportations. In fact, under the proposed legislation, immigrants could be deported even if their appeal was still pending, and could be sent to countries that lack functioning governments.
The proposed bill also expands the PATRIOT Act and creates new crimes. For example, mere association or membership in a designated terrorist group would be a crime, even if no money or other resources were provided. It would apply even to someone who has nothing to do with the group’s violent activities or who is trying to persuade the group to give up violence and join the political process.
The bill also promotes the standardization of driver's licenses and coordination of databases in a way that could lead to the creation of a de facto national ID.
Take Action! Urge your Representative to support real reform, not repressive measures under the guise of national security.
Click here for more information and take action by sending a FREE fax to your Representative:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=16580&c=24
The PATRIOT Act should not be expanded. More than 356 communities in 42 states have passed resolutions against the PATRIOT Act’s most infamous provisions and there has been widespread opposition to any expansion of the government powers that would infringe on the Constitution. This legislation is another such attempt to increase the powers of the government and invade our privacy with elements from earlier PATRIOT Act II proposals.
A national ID would depend on a massive bureaucracy that would limit our basic freedoms. A national ID system would depend on both the issuance of an ID card and the integration of huge amounts of personal information included in state and federal government databases. One employee mistake, an underlying database error or common fraud could take away an individual's ability to move freely from place to place or even make them unemployable until the government fixed their "file."
This bill punishes benign or even well-intentioned membership in a designated terrorist group. The House bill amends the crime of providing “personnel” as a form of support to a designated terrorist group to include providing oneself – in other words, mere association or membership in the group can be a crime, even if no money or other resources are provided. It would apply even to someone who has nothing to do with the group’s violent activities or who is trying to persuade the group to give up violence and join the political process.
Asylum seekers could be required to "corroborate" their claim of persecution. The bill would significantly raise the hurdle for asylum seekers, who often lack any ability to prove their claim through anything save their own testimony. Not surprisingly, asylum-seekers have difficulty obtaining corroborating documents from the very government that is persecuting them.
Although the original purpose of the bill was intelligence reform, the current version includes several provisions that were not included in the 9/11 Commission recommendations but have been long been priorities for the hard-line anti-immigration lobby.
For example, several provisions of the legislation would drastically overhaul the current law to deny immigrants basic judicial review over unfair, arbitrary or otherwise abusive deportations. In fact, under the proposed legislation, immigrants could be deported even if their appeal was still pending, and could be sent to countries that lack functioning governments.
The proposed bill also expands the PATRIOT Act and creates new crimes. For example, mere association or membership in a designated terrorist group would be a crime, even if no money or other resources were provided. It would apply even to someone who has nothing to do with the group’s violent activities or who is trying to persuade the group to give up violence and join the political process.
The bill also promotes the standardization of driver's licenses and coordination of databases in a way that could lead to the creation of a de facto national ID.
Take Action! Urge your Representative to support real reform, not repressive measures under the guise of national security.
Click here for more information and take action by sending a FREE fax to your Representative:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=16580&c=24
The PATRIOT Act should not be expanded. More than 356 communities in 42 states have passed resolutions against the PATRIOT Act’s most infamous provisions and there has been widespread opposition to any expansion of the government powers that would infringe on the Constitution. This legislation is another such attempt to increase the powers of the government and invade our privacy with elements from earlier PATRIOT Act II proposals.
A national ID would depend on a massive bureaucracy that would limit our basic freedoms. A national ID system would depend on both the issuance of an ID card and the integration of huge amounts of personal information included in state and federal government databases. One employee mistake, an underlying database error or common fraud could take away an individual's ability to move freely from place to place or even make them unemployable until the government fixed their "file."
This bill punishes benign or even well-intentioned membership in a designated terrorist group. The House bill amends the crime of providing “personnel” as a form of support to a designated terrorist group to include providing oneself – in other words, mere association or membership in the group can be a crime, even if no money or other resources are provided. It would apply even to someone who has nothing to do with the group’s violent activities or who is trying to persuade the group to give up violence and join the political process.
Asylum seekers could be required to "corroborate" their claim of persecution. The bill would significantly raise the hurdle for asylum seekers, who often lack any ability to prove their claim through anything save their own testimony. Not surprisingly, asylum-seekers have difficulty obtaining corroborating documents from the very government that is persecuting them.