
Current State of Immigration: Global and National Perspectives

What’s happening in Immigration?
Question: I have heard a lot is happening in Congress about various immigration bills relating to the rights of immigrants.
Update of what types of bills are currently in Congress and what may have recently passed?
Answer: House members have secured a significant victory.
They defeated a proposed amendment that would have barred federal funds to states or cities that limit sharing a person’s citizenship or immigration status with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


In a significant shift, government policies now include detentions without charges, secret hearings, and ethnic profiling. These actions signal a new, troubling attitude toward immigrants. However, the proposed Civil Liberties Restoration Act of 2004 (CLRA) aims to correct these abuses. The CLRA would target the government’s overreaching response to terrorism and restore civil liberties.
End Secret Hearings.
Ensure Due Process for Detained Individuals.
Establish Independent Immigration Court.
The CLRA would establish an independent immigration court
within the Department of Justice and promote fair hearings by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal.
End Special Registration.


Make Penalties Commensurate with Violations.
The CLRA would assign reasonable penalties, commensurate with the technical nature of the violations,
for noncitizens’ failure to register or provide timely notification of address changes.
Require Accurate Criminal Databases.
The CLRA would facilitate better law enforcement practices by requiring that the National Crime Information Center
database relied upon daily by state and local law enforcement comply with minimum accuracy requirements.
Ensure Access to Evidence.
under the Patriot Act
would see the evidence against them in the same manner as people charged with a crime
based upon other kinds of classified information.
Mandate Reports on Data-Mining.
This bill will pass in some fashion to give back fairness