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: In a significant victory,
House members defeated an amendment proposed
that sought to prohibit the use of funds to provide assistance to any state or local government
entity or official that prohibits or restricts the sharing of an individual’s citizenship or immigration status
with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
These policies, including detentions for months without charges, secret hearings, and ethnic profiling,
signal a sea change in our government’s policies and attitudes towards immigrants.
With the introduction of the Civil Liberties Restoration Act of 2004 (CLRA)
take a giant step towards redressing these abuses and reining in executive branch overreaching.
The Civil Liberties Restoration Act would roll back, in a targeted and responsible manner,
the excesses of the government’s response to the threat of terrorism.
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.
The CLRA would ensure that people who are charged with a crime based upon national security surveillance
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.
They must be afforded various rights.
This bill will pass in some fashion to give back fairness
and rights that have been slowly taken away from the immigrants.