American Civil Liberties Union

Attorney General Ashcroft and his allies in Congress are using the 9/11 Commission report as cover for new government powers that would infringe on the rights of Americans and foreign guests. The new vehicle for their ill-advised efforts -- a new bill in the House of Representatives -- would likely create what amounts to a national identification card, drastically curtail basic fairness in the nation's immigration system and expand on the PATRIOT Act.

This new legislation (H.R. 10) could create a de facto national identification card by imposing standards on the states. For example, after three years from the date of the legislation's House passage, the federal government would be unable to accept a state driver's license as proof of identity unless it conformed to certain requirements set by the federal government.  More troubling, however, is that the bill would require the linking of state motor vehicle databases, thereby creating a national database which could be error-prone and a rich target for identity thieves.

The proposed legislation would also allow a person to be prosecuted for being a member of a group involved in illegal activities designated by the government as a "terrorist organization," even if that person that has nothing to do with the group's violent activities and even if they are trying to persuade the group to give up violence and join the political process.

Several provisions of the legislation would drastically overhaul the current immigration system to deny immigrants basic judicial review over unfair, arbitrary or otherwise abusive deportations.  None of these policy changes were recommended by the 9/11 Commission.  For example, this legislation would allow the government to deport people to countries that do not even have a working government. It would also make it harder for refugees to be granted asylum, and make it easier for the government to deport them even if their case is under appeal.

Take Action!  This bill is now in conference and we need to make sure these bad provisions get stripped out before the final vote.  Urge your Members of Congress to oppose this regressive legislation!

 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.