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"Rights
Friendly" Immigration Bill Introduced Into Congress
Report
by IOL Washington Correspondent, Neveen A. Salem
WASHINGTON
D.C., March 8 (IslamOnline) - Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Member of
the House Judiciary Committee, Thursday joined other members of the House in a
press conference to reintroduce an omnibus immigration bill designed to restore
the right to due process to immigrants in the U.S.
The
new bill, "The Restoration of Fairness in Immigration act of 2002",
seeks to repeal the most punitive aspects of the 1996 immigration law, which was
passed after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City by former U.S. army officer
Timothy McVeigh.
The
1996 immigration law contains several clauses that have overwhelmingly targeted
and discriminated against Arabs and Muslims, including subjecting them to
unlawful detention and the use of secret evidence in immigration proceedings.
Conyers
hopes that the new bill will restore an overall sense of fairness and equity to
the U.S. immigration system.
"For
too many years, Congress has witnessed a wave of anti-immigration legislation,
playing on our worst fears and prejudices. In 1996 we passed laws denying legal
residents the right to public benefits and denying immigrants a range of due
process and fairness protections," Conyers stated.
He
also went on to say that the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York
have further robbed immigrants, specifically those of Arab and Muslim descent,
of their rights to protection and due process.
"Recently
we have seen the tragedy of September 11 used as an excuse for even more
assaults on the rights of immigrants," Conyers stated. "We are fending
off legislation almost daily to reduce, if not eliminate, immigration to this
country."
Among
other important provisions, this new legislation, of which there have been
several versions introduced in previous Congresses, would:
*
Restore the right to a due process hearing before an immigration judge;
*
Codify INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) history of deportation
hearings being open to the public;
*
Permit immigrants to adjust their immigration status pursuant to section 245(i);
*
Repeal portions of the '96 law which retroactively allowed deportation of legal
permanent residents for minor offenses; and
*
Restore Attorney General discretion to permit humanitarian exceptions to
deportation orders for minor offenses.
The
new bill is believed by the American Muslim/Arab community to be the most
important immigration bill introduced this Congress.
"The
most important aspect of this new law is that it brings due process back into
immigration hearings," Jason Erb, director of government relations for the
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) told IslamOnline.
"For
example, it provides legal immigrants with the opportunity to go to a judge and
explain the specific circumstances of their case. This is a basic, fundamental
right that everyone has. This country is based on the rules of law and we have
denied this right to immigrants. This law reintroduces those rights," Erb
continued.
Hussein
Ibish, media director for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC),
also offered his support for the new bill saying, "The 1996 immigration act
has been in desperate need of reform. It has produced massive unfairness,
massive discrimination and massive abuses, including the unfair detention and
deportation of immigrants. These abuses have no part in the immigration
system."
"We
support this new bill and are even more supportive of such reforms because of
the further deterioration of immigrants' rights since the post September 11
Patriot Act," he told IslamOnline.
He
also went on to address the practices of the U.S. government since September 11,
saying that immigration policy has become increasingly racist and has
categorically targeted Arabs and Muslims strictly based on their ethnicity and
religious background.
"Since
September 11, you can say the [U.S.] government has introduce, for the first
time since the 1950s, a form of ethnic discrimination into American immigration
policies. We [the U.S.] now have two policies, one for young Arabs and Muslims
and one for everybody else," Ibish stated.
The
new legislation is supported by Members of the Congressional Hispanic, Black and
Asian Pacific Caucuses and over 50 immigration and advocacy groups, including
the National Council of La Raza, Salvadoran American National Network, American
Immigration Lawyers Association, Council on American-Islamic Relations,
Immigration and Refugee Services of America, National Immigration Forum,
American Civil Liberties Union, NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, National
Coalition for Haitian Rights, and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee.
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