ACLU Urges a “No” Vote on Final Passage of S. 2611, the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the ACLU, a non-partisan organization with hundreds of
thousands of activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we urge you to
vote against passage of S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of
2006. In urging a “no” vote, the
ACLU concludes that S. 2611 unacceptably reduces or eliminates due process for
both legal and undocumented immigrants, expands Constitutionally infirm
detention and removal powers and procedures, and threatens personal privacy and
civil liberties. In particular, S.
2611 must be opposed because it:
· Creates a “government permission slip
to work” for all, including American citizens. This bill would greatly expand
existing employment eligibility pre-screening by mandating that all employers
participate in an Employment Eligibility Verification System. While the Senate adopted an amendment to
build in some privacy protections and due process for workers aggrieved by
government data errors, the Employment Eligibility Verification System could
prevent hundreds of thousands of lawful, eligible workers from getting their
next job.
- Employers
will bear an enormous financial burden under the employment verification
provisions. America's 8.4
million employers would have to expend significant resources to implement an
electronic verification system.
- The
system would require the creation of massive government databases, placing our
most private information at risk by creating a "one stop shopping" source for
identity thieves. These
databases would cover every lawful resident of the United States. The security risks are undeniable and
unfathomable. Substantial amounts
of personally identifiable information would be gathered about
every citizen and every visa holder. As we have seen with the data breach
involving the Veterans Affairs Administration and 26.5 million veterans,
government data about citizens is sensitive and identity thieves want to obtain
it from the government. The
databases created by the Employment Eligibility Verification System would be a
prime target of identity thieves because such an enormous database will be
impossible to secure. Americans
should brace themselves for data breaches and spills.
· Makes criminals out of those seeking
legal status in the United States. Immigrants with valid asylum claims would
be unfairly penalized. Some future immigrants would be barred from attempting to
legalize their status.
·
Penalizes churches and other charitable organizations for their
work. Despite amendments that
substantially narrowed criminalization of humanitarian assistance for
life-threatening needs, faith-based and charitable organizations that help
refugees could have their work deemed criminal by the overbroad definition of
“smuggling.”
· Broadens
the constitutionally infirm practice of indefinite detention. The U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled
that indefinite detention raises constitutional concerns, yet this bill unwisely
expands the government’s authority to indefinitely detain immigrants ordered
deported to countries that won’t accept them. The indefinite detention of people for
immigration violations – when it becomes clear that they cannot be removed to
the country they fled or a third country – is inhumane and an enormous waste of
scarce detention resources.
Indefinite detention is a feature we expect of repressive regimes, not of
our own.
· Erects border fences and
walls that don't
work. The Senate unwisely voted
to build 370 miles of fence along the Southern border. Barriers have not stopped illegal
immigration from Mexico and have instead put more lives at risk by shifting
immigration to ever more remote and dangerous areas of the border. More barriers will have the same
effect.
The ACLU also opposes passage of
this legislation because it will be conferenced with, and made more similar to,
the deplorable H.R. 4437. That bill
includes many of the same civil liberties problems as does the Senate bill, and
more. It would also: expand the
unjust practice of expedited removal – deportation without a lawyer, hearing, or
court review, expand mandatory detention of non-citizens, and encourage state
and local police to enforce the immigration laws even though such enforcement
discourages non-citizens from reporting crime. The House bill would also limit judicial
review by curtailing the constitutionally guaranteed writ of habeas corpus and
by causing dismissal of cases when a single judge does not act on the case
within 60 days.
In short, this bill does not live
up to its promise. Further, when S.
2611 is harmonized with H.R. 4437 during conference committee negotiations,
there is little hope that the bill that emerges will protect workers’ and
immigrants’ civil liberties. Again,
the ACLU urges a “no” vote. Thank
you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Caroline Fredrickson
Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office
Timothy Sparapani
Legislative Counsel
ACLU Washington Legislative Office
