I became a U.S. citizen in 1988 when I was 8 years old. At the time I really didn't understand how difficult it is for an honest hardworking human being to be allowed to become part of the greatest democracy on the planet. My grandfather was a migrant worker for decades before he settled in Illinois. My father, as a young man, fixed railroads all over the Midwest. So it is very alarming to me that congress is trying to destroy the few rights non-citizens have in this country.
Stop HR 10 Before Congress Expands the War on Immigrants! Call
Congress TODAY! See below for phone numbers
In the past two weeks, right-wing members of Congress have tried to
sneak horrible anti-immigrant measures past the public. These are not
just any bills: If passed, they will be the biggest attack on
immigrants in almost a decade.
Recently, both houses passed the "9/11 Commission
Recommendations
Implementation Act." The version passed in the House of
Representatives -- HR 10 -- includes immigration amendments that were
never part of the Commission's recommendations. Now, without further
debate, against the wishes of the Commission, and with complete
disregard for the rights of noncitizens, a group of 21 Senators and
House members will conference behind closed doors and decide whether
to keep the anti-immigrant amendments when it goes to President Bush
to be signed into law.
HR 10 would strip the few rights that noncitizens enjoy under our
Constitution, and tear millions more families apart. It would write
into
law inhumane practices the Department of Homeland Security has been
using out of the public eye and would reverse the few, hard-fought
gains in immigrant rights won over the last seven years.
Specifically, the proposed law would:
- Deny immigrants the right to have a court review a deportation
order--in effect, suspending habeas corpus for the first time since
the Civil War
(Section 3009)
- Allow deportations to a country with no government (Section 3035)
- Allow deportations to a country where immigrants fear persecution
(Section 3009) or torture (Section 3032)
- Allow more mandatory indefinite detentions (Section 3032)
- Allows Homeland Security to deport immigrants before federal courts
have decided on their case (Section 3009) Make it more difficult for
people fleeing torture to gain asylum
(Section 3007)
- Restrict access to driver's licenses and use of consular ID cards
(Section 3006)
As The Washington Post recently editorialized, with the elections
only weeks away, the Republicans plan "to force Democrats either
to accept policy they would otherwise oppose or to turn against the
bill itself -- thereby letting Republicans brand them as weak on
terrorism." We need your help NOW!
TAKE ACTION: CALL CONGRESS TODAY!
United for Peace and Justice urges you to take action to stop this
major escalation of the war on immigrants! So far, House staffers
have said that they have received 5000 comments in support of HR 10
and only 15 in opposition to it. If we act now, we can change what
they are hearing!
CALL the members of Congress below and tell them:
"I want you to remove ALL the immigration provisions of HR10
from the final 9/11 Commission bill. The immigration provisions
strip people of basic Constitutional rights, and will tear countless
families apart
without increasing national security."
In order of importance, call:
1. Congresswoman Susan Collins from Maine (202-224-2523) - She has
the most influence over which version of the bills pass.
2. Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut (202-224-4041) - He is the
ranking Democrat who needs to be told to stick firmly to the Senate
bill
and reject the House's anti-immigrant provisions.
3. Senator Mike DeWine (Ohio, 202-224-2315); Congressman
Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin, 202-225-5101); Senator Graham (Florida,
202-224-3041); and Senator Voinovich (Ohio, 202-224-3353).
4. Your own Congressperson and Senators. You can call the Capitol
Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected. Or look them up
at http://www.house.gov and http://www.senate.gov
5. As many of the other members of the Conference Committee as you
can - these are the only people who will be deciding what sections
of the bills will stay and what will go from the final bill.
> Senate Members of the Conference Committee
> Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey, 202-224-3224
> Norm Coleman, Minnesota, 202-224-5641
> John Sununu, NH, 202-224-2841
> Pat Roberts, Kansas, 202-224-4774
> Trent Lott, Mississippi, 202-224-6253
> Carl Levin, Michigan, 202-224-6221
> Richard Durbin, Illinois, 202-224-2152
> John Rockefeller, West Virginia, 202-224-6472
> House Members of the Conference Committee
> Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., 2nd, 202-225-4401
> Henry Hyde, R-Ill., 6th, 2020225-4561
> David Dreier, R-Calif., 26th, 202-225-2305
> Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., 52nd, 202-225-5672
> Jane Harman, D-Calif., 36th, 202-225-8220
> Ike Skelton, D-Mo., 4th, 202-225-2876
> Robert Menendez, D-N.J., 13th, 202-225-7919
EMAIL or FAX
(Go to http://capwiz.com/aila2/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6540936
and write your message in the boxes provided.)
IF YOU WANT TO DO MORE, contact:
American Immigration Lawyers Association http://www.aila.org/
National Immigration Forum http://www.immigrationforum.org/
Human Rights Watch http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/06/usdom9469.htm
Families for Freedom http://www.familiesforfreedom.org or
212-898-4121
For more info on the bills, Visit
http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=654
In all honesty, my grandfather did not enter this country legally. It took him many years to finally get a legal worker's permit. But in return for a chance to work hard and be a good citizen, my grandparents gave this country a nurse, a paralegal, an engineer, a court translator, a teacher and my father, a small business owner. If you feel as strongly as I do that this country's honest immigrant population at least deserves a chance to prove itself then please help.