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