Critical flaws in the REAL ID Act
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: FW: PFAW issues Action Alert on REAL ID
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:41:06 -0500
From: blueridge blueridge@citynet.net
House and Senate members are currently negotiating a final bill funding
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as providing aid to tsunami
victims. The House has attached dangerous language to this "must-pass" bill
that would grant the Secretary of Homeland Security unlimited powers which
could not be challenged in any court. These powers would include the
authority to suspend any law -- including environmental, civil rights and
labor laws -- that the Secretary deems an obstacle to U.S. border security.
This legislation, called the REAL ID Act, must be stripped out in conference
committee or it will surely become law, creating a terrible precedent for
unchecked government power and threatening the safety of millions living in
the U.S. or seeking asylum here.
Call today and tell your senator on the conference committee to strip the
REAL ID Act language from the Iraq war appropriations bill (H.R. 1268).
Sen. Robert Byrd
DC Phone: (202) 224-3954
District Phone: (304) 342-5855
When you call, ask for the staff member who handles appropriations issues.
State your name, where you live, and a message such as:
"I strongly urge Senator _____ to ensure that the REAL ID Act is stripped
from the Iraq war appropriations bill in conference committee and not
included in a final bill."
Here are some talking points to reinforce your message:
The REAL ID Act would give the Secretary of Homeland Security unlimited
powers not subject to judicial review, allowing the Secretary to trample our
rights. Under the bill, the Secretary of Homeland Security would have
authority to waive "all laws" -- including environmental, civil rights and
labor laws -- that s/he determines would interfere with the construction of
barriers and roads along our nation's borders. For example, if the Secretary
decided it would be cheaper to hire children to construct a border fence,
s/he could waive child labor laws to make it happen. These decisions could
not be challenged in any court because the bill also exempts such decisions
from judicial review.
The Act would deny asylum to people fleeing persecution in other countries.
In one of the bill's most perverse twists, victims seeking asylum in the
U.S. would have to obtain corroborating evidence of their persecution, such
as documentation from the persecuting government. The bill would also give
U.S. officials more power to deny asylum applications based on unproven or
irrelevant information, and would prohibit U.S. courts from reviewing these
discretionary judgments. This would effectively make asylum applicants
completely dependent on the whims of officials at the Justice and Homeland
Security departments.
The Act will force more immigrants into the shadows of society, harming the
safety of immigrants and non-immigrants alike. The bill would require that
states make driver's license applicants prove that they are in the U.S.
legally and essentially turn motor-vehicle department employees into
immigration agents. These new requirements could force many of the estimated
9 to 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to forego getting a
driver's license or to obtain one fraudulently. As a result, many would also
lack driver training and insurance, meaning more hazardous road conditions
for all.
The REAL ID Act is a recipe for disaster, threatening the rights and safety
of millions of Americans. Its sponsors clearly know it, or they wouldn't
have been so devious as to attach it to a bill that those in our military
and those recovering from natural disaster are counting on.
Were the REAL ID Act debated in Congress at length and as a stand-alone
bill, there is little doubt it that large majorities would be outraged by
its assault on checks and balances and immigrants to the U.S. Your call to
your senator, and those made by your friends, are the last, best hope to
awaken that outrage and defeat this deeply flawed legislation.
Please contact your senator today and forward this alert to friends and
family members in the states listed to the right. Sound the alarm to make
sure that the REAL ID Act doesn't sneak into our nation's laws and undermine
our democratic principles.
Thank you,
Ralph G. Neas
President
Learn about other critical flaws in the REAL ID Act at:
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17851
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: FW: PFAW issues Action Alert on REAL ID
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:41:06 -0500
From: blueridge blueridge@citynet.net
House and Senate members are currently negotiating a final bill funding
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as providing aid to tsunami
victims. The House has attached dangerous language to this "must-pass" bill
that would grant the Secretary of Homeland Security unlimited powers which
could not be challenged in any court. These powers would include the
authority to suspend any law -- including environmental, civil rights and
labor laws -- that the Secretary deems an obstacle to U.S. border security.
This legislation, called the REAL ID Act, must be stripped out in conference
committee or it will surely become law, creating a terrible precedent for
unchecked government power and threatening the safety of millions living in
the U.S. or seeking asylum here.
Call today and tell your senator on the conference committee to strip the
REAL ID Act language from the Iraq war appropriations bill (H.R. 1268).
Sen. Robert Byrd
DC Phone: (202) 224-3954
District Phone: (304) 342-5855
When you call, ask for the staff member who handles appropriations issues.
State your name, where you live, and a message such as:
"I strongly urge Senator _____ to ensure that the REAL ID Act is stripped
from the Iraq war appropriations bill in conference committee and not
included in a final bill."
Here are some talking points to reinforce your message:
The REAL ID Act would give the Secretary of Homeland Security unlimited
powers not subject to judicial review, allowing the Secretary to trample our
rights. Under the bill, the Secretary of Homeland Security would have
authority to waive "all laws" -- including environmental, civil rights and
labor laws -- that s/he determines would interfere with the construction of
barriers and roads along our nation's borders. For example, if the Secretary
decided it would be cheaper to hire children to construct a border fence,
s/he could waive child labor laws to make it happen. These decisions could
not be challenged in any court because the bill also exempts such decisions
from judicial review.
The Act would deny asylum to people fleeing persecution in other countries.
In one of the bill's most perverse twists, victims seeking asylum in the
U.S. would have to obtain corroborating evidence of their persecution, such
as documentation from the persecuting government. The bill would also give
U.S. officials more power to deny asylum applications based on unproven or
irrelevant information, and would prohibit U.S. courts from reviewing these
discretionary judgments. This would effectively make asylum applicants
completely dependent on the whims of officials at the Justice and Homeland
Security departments.
The Act will force more immigrants into the shadows of society, harming the
safety of immigrants and non-immigrants alike. The bill would require that
states make driver's license applicants prove that they are in the U.S.
legally and essentially turn motor-vehicle department employees into
immigration agents. These new requirements could force many of the estimated
9 to 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to forego getting a
driver's license or to obtain one fraudulently. As a result, many would also
lack driver training and insurance, meaning more hazardous road conditions
for all.
The REAL ID Act is a recipe for disaster, threatening the rights and safety
of millions of Americans. Its sponsors clearly know it, or they wouldn't
have been so devious as to attach it to a bill that those in our military
and those recovering from natural disaster are counting on.
Were the REAL ID Act debated in Congress at length and as a stand-alone
bill, there is little doubt it that large majorities would be outraged by
its assault on checks and balances and immigrants to the U.S. Your call to
your senator, and those made by your friends, are the last, best hope to
awaken that outrage and defeat this deeply flawed legislation.
Please contact your senator today and forward this alert to friends and
family members in the states listed to the right. Sound the alarm to make
sure that the REAL ID Act doesn't sneak into our nation's laws and undermine
our democratic principles.
Thank you,
Ralph G. Neas
President
Learn about other critical flaws in the REAL ID Act at:
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17851
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Saturday, 04/30/05
Message Board by American Patriot Friends Network [APFN]
