A REAL Invasion of Privacy
By Scott Thill
http://www.alternet.org/rights/21831/
The REAL ID Act would construct a military fence along
the whole Southwestern border and require all immigrants
to carry ID cards. It's a perfect example of how anti-privacy,
anti-immigrant legislation is snuck through Congress in
the name of "immigration reform."
If at first you don't succeed, then try again.
Both the Bush administration and its conservative base
have taken that maxim to heart with a vengeance. After
realizing that it would be impossible to avoid a Democratic
filibuster of a proposed bill allowing drilling in Alaska's
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the president's first
term, Republicans piggy-backed the volatile proposition
into a budget measure (which is immune to filibustering)
in his second one. The fact that Democrats accused the
opposition of bending the rules didn't seem to bother
anyone. Republicans in the House and Senate recently
tried the same thing with the REAL ID Act, a contentious
piece of so-called immigration reform inserted surreptitiously into a House version
of the Iraq Supplemental Appropriations bill. The bill passed in the House but was
removed at the last minute from a Senate version of the supplemental bill when its
sponsor, Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia, realized it didn't have enough support.
Stalled in conference committee right now, the bill has sparked an outcry among
immigration groups across the nation, as well as civil liberties organizations
worldwide.
"This is a refugee-bashing bill that would not protect Americans from terrorists and
suspected terrorists already categorically barred from asylum," argues Erin Callahan,
Western Regional Director of Amnesty International. "If passed, the Act would place
burdens on asylum-seekers that would likely fall hardest on the most vulnerable among
them."
The ACLU agrees. "The REAL ID Act is a civil rights disaster," explains Ahilan
Arulanantham, attorney for the ACLU's Southern California chapter. "Several
provisions effectively limit or end judicial review of immigration cases, including
refugee cases, and that is a very serious issue."
The REAL ID Act (H.R. 418) encompasses four major provisions ostensibly designed to
correct what Wisconsin Representative F. James Sensenbrenner called in a February 9
discussion on the House floor national "vulnerabilities" on "terrorist travel" noted
by the 9/11 commission's report. Sensenbrenner, who also serves as the House
Judiciary Committee Chairman, introduced H.R. 418 into the House version of the Iraq
Supplemental Appropriations bill after the GOP was unsuccessful in attaching similar
legislation, opposed by both the commissioners and majority of 9/11 family
organizations, to the expansive Intelligence Reform Bill that passed in December 2004
with an overwhelming 89-2 vote.
But in the spirit of the 21st-century's never-say-die GOP, Rep. Sensenbrenner pushed
onward with REAL ID, after holding up passage of the Intelligence Reform Bill because
it dropped the Act's provisions, which were opposed by Harry Reid and Bill Frist
alike. Finally, unable to get the votes on its own, Reprensentative Sensenbrenner
snuck the bill on to something else entirely, to the indignation of immigrants and
asylum seekers worldwide.
In a recent TomPaine.com article. Michigan Congressman John Conyers argues that the
REAL ID Act is "anti-immigration legislation" and includes "provisions limiting
[America's] asylum laws, making it easier to deport legal immigrants, denying
immigrants long-standing habeus corpus rights, imposing onerous new driver's license
requirements on the states, and waiving all federal laws concerning the construction
of fences and barriers." Sensenbrenner's aforementioned rationale for REAL ID on the
House floor is, of course, far more general and alarmist, insisting that the "Act
contains a common-sense provision that helps protect Americans from terrorists who
have infiltrated the United States" and that the current immigration problems
Americans are experiencing are due to, what else, "liberal activist judges."
But civil rights organizations are livid that, once again, the GOP is using the back
door to get its highly unpopular policies passed.
"It's a slap in the face that the REAL ID Act has been attached to the Supplemental
bill," argues Katherine Culliton, attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (MALDEF), "because many of the troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq
are Latino immigrants. Attaching it to the appropriations bill means it's bypassing
the proper deliberation and debate procedures normally reserved for such legislation.
It should be going through the judiciary committee, not the appropriations committee.
We're urging President Bush to use his political capital to stop this act from going
through."
While that kind of last-minute intervention can be expected from President Bush when
it comes to evangelical hot-button issues like the Terri Schiavo debacle, it is
unlikely that anyone in the Bush administration would lift a finger to stop the REAL
ID Act. Hard-line conservatives like Tom DeLay are applauding the legislation,
explaining to the Washington Times that he "personally think[s] that we ought to use
the eyes and ears of our military" to control immigration. For those not sure exactly
what that means, Senator Isakson has reductively distilled the REAL ID Act into a
handy sound-bite for those not interested in labyrinthine legalspeak. "REAL ID is not
an immigration issue," Isakson told the Senate floor on April 13. "It is a national
security issue."
But is it? Not if you ask the ACLU, who places REAL ID's attack on immigrants in the
context of greater Republican efforts to undermine the strength of the courts. "Since
9/11, but even before that time," explains Arulanantham, "we've seen a huge number of
government abuses of power pertaining to immigration. The way our immigration system
is set up, the only independent judges that review immigration cases are those of the
federal courts; the other judges in the system are actually employees of the Attorney
General. So it is not surprising that this bill, in several different ways, seeks to
end the critical check on government power that federal judges provide in this area.
That is a very serious civil rights issue, and almost certainly unconstitutional."
"As far as how it is being pursued procedurally," Arulanantham continues, "this is
obviously an attempt to make opponents of REAL ID look as though they wanted to vote
against appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan. It's sad that such important and
momentous civil rights legislation is being shuttled in through the back door in an
attempt to frustrate debate on what remains a very important issue."
The REAL ID Act has other, more nefarious, sticking points. "For example," claims
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los
Angeles (CHIRLA), "the asylum provision forces asylum seekers to prove, through
documentation from their home government, that they are indeed being persecuted by
that same government. Which is ludicrous. There's no way they're going to be able to
acquire that kind of documentation."
It gets worse, Salas explains. "The other problematic provision is the one that
offers incentives to bounty hunters seeking out undocumented immigrants on the
absconder list or those who have failed to appear at their deportation hearings.
Giving bounty hunters monetary compensation for capturing undocumented immigrants is
simply wrong. It takes us back to the time of slavery, where bounty hunters were
employed to capture slaves that had fled the plantation. Enforcement responsibilities
belong to immigration, and shouldn't be given to the people so they can make money
off of them."
While vigilante justice may go over like gangbusters in American popular culture, it
doesn't have any place in a national policy on immigration, according to Salas,
Culliton and the many others opposed to REAL ID. In fact, it only exacerbates what is
already a serious social problem.
"I'm glad that President Bush has correctly called The Minutemen vigilantes," says
Culliton. "And MALDEF has actually sued vigilante groups, because they're much more
than a simple neighborhood watch. There have been numerous cases of abuse and illegal
detentions; people are not supposed to be taking the law into their own hands.
Immigration decisions should be made by the proper authorities in the federal
government and the judicial system. After all, this is America: Everyone has the
right to a fair trial."
But for how much longer? For all of its considerable controversies, it is the REAL ID
Act's Orwellian overtones that concern Arulanantham and the ACLU the most. "We are
particularly concerned about the driver's license aspect of the bill, which ... puts
us on the path to a national ID card. ...[C]reating uniform standards will make it
easier for the government to use tracking technology to monitor people. Which is a
serious privacy issue."
Indeed, that panoptic scenario of control and command is only accentuated by a REAL
ID provision that clears the way for the construction of military-style fences along
the entire Southwestern border, at the cost of $3 million per mile. Equally alarming,
the project would be immune to the law.
"The Department of Homeland Security," Culliton claims, "would waive the application
of any law -- labor, civil rights, environmental or otherwise -- in regards to
construction of the fence. Which means that any grievance filed during the
construction would be ignored. But aside from the usual objections, we're also
against the fence because we know it's not going to fix the underlying problem. It's
not going to stop undocumented immigration. We've already tried it and it's only led
to more deaths in the desert, more corruption and grave suffering for entire
communities."
All of which begs the question: What are the true motives behind the REAL ID Act,
which seeks to reform America's immigration and asylum problems with everything from
Wild West concoctions like bounty hunters and hard-to-scale walls to more Orwellian
propositions like creating mammoth databases, erasing habeus corpus and demanding
documentation from dictatorships from those seeking to flee them? How about good old
xenophobia and paranoia?
"We know that the 9/11 hijackers were here under lawful, legal status," argues
Culliton. "In addition, we also know that the more than 100 anti-immigrant measures
enacted after 9/11 haven't led to a single identification or investigation of
terrorists. But they have caused a serious amount of harassment for the Latino
community. There are xenophobic groups that have taken advantage of the 9/11 tragedy,
and they're very vocal. I hope the American public wakes up and forces the government
to enact legislation that will actually make us safer, which is to find the real
terrorists rather than blankly targeting immigrants."
Arulanantham agrees. "I don't understand where the attack on immigrants comes from.
At times, of course, it's just part of the core conservative agenda, but in this case
it's not. Some Republicans favor legislation that is helpful toward immigrants, but I
think for the rest what they really want is to get people to come here and work
without giving them any rights. They want legislation that both allows them to come
here and function as labor, but denies them the civil and human rights protections
that all people deserve."
Which seems, in the end, to be the logical if not soporific symptom of a nation of
immigrants that, if the REAL ID Act were enforced when their ancestors arrived on a
slave ship or the Mayflower itself, probably would have been turned away at the gate.
"We sometimes forget," cautions Salas "once we arrive in America and eventually
become natives, how we got here. Or that others will continue to come here.
Immigration is a natural phenomenon. Of course, every country needs to protect its
sovereignty and borders, but our policies need to make sense in the real world."
Scott Thill runs the online mag Morphizm.com, while finding the time to rant for
Salon, XLR8R, All Music Guide, AOL and others. His first novel, The Dangerous
Perhaps, should be done by the time the War on Terrorism is over.
REAL ID Act a tragedy for asylum seekers
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050522/NEWS/505220332/1014
By PATRICK GIANTONIO
The passage last week of the REAL ID Act by Congress and the White House deals a
serious blow to refugees' chances to find safe haven in the United States. Sadly,
REAL ID is yet one more brick in the wall of laws and policies blocking asylum
seekers and indicating a sharp retreat from the United States' commitment to human
rights.
That this very controversial act was attached to the "must pass" supplementary
spending bill for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as relief to tsunami
victims makes it an unconscionable law, anti-democratic and a double insult to
refugees.
Attaching the largely immigration-related act to the emergency spending bill for Iraq
coerced lawmakers into voting for the bill (the Senate vote was unanimous) as there
was not one senator who would vote against funding to support the troops in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
REAL ID was introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. The bill was touted as a
tool to deter terrorists from obtaining driver's licenses and utilizing the U.S.
asylum system.
In truth, REAL ID will do absolutely nothing to stop terrorists from entering the
United States.
Instead, it will make it much more difficult for deserving individuals who have
weathered unimaginable human rights abuses to find a compassionate and just system to
plead their case. Also, asylum seekers are given rigorous security checks.
Aside from provisions related to restrictions on driver's licenses, REAL ID gives
immigration judges the power to reject an asylum applicant's case because of their
demeanor.
Demeanor is not a good barometer of the merits of an asylum claim.
Refugee advocates understand that due to cultural differences as well as the effects
of trauma, a refugee might not make eye contact with an official or authority figure.
Torture survivors sometimes respond quite differently than mainstream culture
expects, such as smiling or giggling nervously while relating a horrific story of
abuse.
This will undoubtedly result in the denial of the cases of well-deserving asylum
seekers thereby returning them to torture and abuse in the hands of their
persecutors.
REAL ID also gives asylum adjudicators the power to deny a claim due to material
inconsistencies.
This could mean that a woman who has been raped by the military in her home country
could be denied asylum because she states this fact to a judge after she initially
feared to reveal it to the uniformed immigration officials who intercepted her at a
U.S. airport. In a traumatized asylum seeker's life, the lack of safety, fear,
difficulty in trusting authority figures and lack of understanding of the system they
are entering can lead to inconsistencies in the story or testimony.
In many ways, these inconsistencies are survival skills.
Since 1995, the United States has seen the number of annual asylum claims drop from
150,000 to just over 30,000 last year. The introduction of REAL ID will most
certainly pose increased obstacles to potential individuals fleeing persecution from
their homeland.
The combination of the passage of REAL ID with bilateral agreements such as the Safe
Third Country Agreement, which was implemented earlier this year and closes the door
to Canada for most asylum seekers, illustrate a discouraging international trend
where the gates of protection are much more difficult to access for refugees.
In many ways, these gates are being moved farther from the nations that have the
capability to provide adequate protection to the nations and regions where the
persecution occurred.
It is sadly ironic that many of the poorest countries in the world are also the
nations hosting the vast majority of the world's refugees.
REAL ID should not be viewed as an anomaly.
It is part of a broader pattern that includes numerous post-9/11 setbacks to
immigrants and refugee rights.
As refugee advocates decry the passage last week of the REAL ID Act, it's time for
the United States to re-evaluate its commitment to providing safe haven to the
world's most vulnerable and threatened individuals. We cannot allow some of America's
most revered humanitarian values to be denied to those who deserve it most. Those
values are vital threads in the fabric of human rights upon which this country was
founded.
Patrick Giantonio is executive director of Vermont Refugee Assistance.
IT'S REFRESHING TO READ A GREAT POST THAT SHOWS COMPASSION!!!
Posted by: WONDERWALEYE on Apr 22, 2005 7:53 AM [Report this comment]
I would like to thank you for the above post!!! I certainly feel that you think as
one of those old time AMERICANS that know's what made this country GREAT!! The
trouble today is that there has been such a gap in time that folks have forgotten
what this country was all about!! I went to MEXICO to a medical clinic with a doctor
and was able to see first hand the strife these MEXICAN folks face. Not enough
medicine, very little follow up, to get to and in front of the medical clinic was
GIANT pot holes that never get fixed, shack's all around the clinic that a AMERICAN
would not allow folks to live in in this country, and the big AMERICAN factories that
over work the folks for $70.00 a week. That is if you healthy enough and blessed
enough to even land a job. The doctor got front page coverage in a very big news
paper in MEXICO for discribing the clinic and it's lack of med's to even take care of
folks. He was told by the elected officials that he will not do that again!!! or he
would face big trouble from above. Many AMERICAN folks just have no Idea what life is
like in MEXICO. I visited a little shack with the doctor that mutiple familly's live
in. A relitive was there dying in the bed and the doctor said that their was nothing
the clinic could do because there were no facilites to handle the care she would
need. That day was a real eye opener for me and I shall never forget it. Now to the
few[when you concider MEXICO'S population] that have the courage and strenth to
survive all the real hardship of crossing a desert that is very deadly, I feel we
ought to have compassion enough to see to it that they be given a chance to prove
themselves worthy of being called an AMERICAN. This is truly survival of only the
strongest and these type of folks can make AMERICA STRONG!!!! MAY THE LOVE OF JESUS
BE WITH YOU!!![this has two meanings]
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
» RE: IT'S REFRESHING TO READ A GREAT POST THAT SHOWS COMPASSION!!! Posted by:
catroina
A Real Invasion of Privacy
Posted by: Gma1 on Apr 22, 2005 7:54 AM [Report this comment]
I am not in favor of any law that does not allow for taking in immigrants that are
being persecuted at home. However, my parents taught me that if one breaks the law,
one must pay the penalty. "If you can't do the time - don't do the crime!" Entering
the United States of America illegally (under no duress from one's own country) IS
ILLEGAL! What is it that the ACLU and other "immigration protection" organizations
don't get? ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL OR - A ROSE BY ANOTHER NAME IS STILL A ROSE
OR IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK AND TALKS LIKE A DUCK IT IS A DUCK. Can you understand
those simple terms. I just can't get more basic, sorry.
Will you please print here exactly what laws the Minute-Men, who are protecting our
borders and spotting ILLEGALS for the border guards, and law enforcement agencies,
have broken. SPECIFIC, DOCUMENTED, CHECKABLE INSTANCES ONLY, PLEASE! I continue to
hear from the above organizations that they have "broken laws". But no one ever
mentions specific instances. I do not see them as vigilantes. I think the tea is in
the water. This is a question of AMERICAN CITIZENS' RIGHTS. It is a slap in the face
to all our wonderful LEGAL IMMIGRANTS to protect ILLEGALS.
My mother's family immigrated here from Europe. They had to have sponsors, a job
offer, a place to live and THEY HAD TO LEARN TO READ, WRITE AND SPEAK THE LANGUAGE
BEFORE THEY COULD SWEAR AN OATH TO BE GOOD CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
They actually had to pass a TEST! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? Will you please also, tell me
what is objectionable in that? Please, illegals have no rights. They have broken the
law. Get it?
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
» RE: A Real Invasion of Privacy Posted by: davidphogan74
theID is anti- illegal immigration no inti-immigration
Posted by: kevns007 on Apr 22, 2005 8:23 AM [Report this comment]
Shill doesn't know how to distinguish the difference between illegal and legal
immigration. Assholes like him are supporting the invasion of our Country by Mexico,
inadvertantly, by not investigating the fact that there's a real and organized effort
to take over the Southwest by sheer numbers. Organized! And the fact that business
uses these people for cheap labor (if they could go back to slave labor they would in
a heartbeat) is only undermining our middle class and turning America into a third
world country. Way to go, Shill, you dumb fuck.
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
Dialogue is needed
Posted by: jakealeah on Apr 22, 2005 9:17 AM [Report this comment]
Laws passed to control legal immigration are nothing but a positive for this great
country. We have turned a blind eye to our borders and it is time for common sense
immigration laws. The Real ID legislation has some postive benefits as well as
negative, we need to have a dialogue on this and come up an improved version. I for
one believe that you have rights in this country that are protected only when you
live her legally.
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
The hate will deter immigration
Posted by: elmysterio on Apr 22, 2005 10:26 AM [Report this comment]
I think the current contitions in the United States, if continued, will drive the
"stars" from people's eyes and make them think twice about coming to the US for a
"better life"... that "better life" is a pipe dream. Doesn't exists anymore. People
who want to start a "better life" should consider other countries besides the United
States. Come to Canada. We're nice here. We have lots of space. We won't treat you
like shit. We're like "America with a concience". heh... My point is, the "American
Dream" is dead. People should really reconsider where they want to relocate to. And
the fact remains that as an immigrant, you're not welcome in the U.S. Xenophobic,
paranoid morons.
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
» RE: The hate will deter immigration Posted by: catroina
This ain't gonna be long . . .
Posted by: torsers2 on Apr 22, 2005 12:05 PM [Report this comment]
i am very for the legislation that was past in regards to immigrants required to show
a type of identification. Whad up, folks. You ought be glad we are being looked out
for. Why would we want a convict from another country entering the U.S?
It makes a difference for our security whether or not your liberal asses want to
admit it. Wah, wah, wah. Our current president is looking out for us. Do you not see
this?
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
» RE: This ain't gonna be long . . . Posted by: elmysterio
The worst - Section 203 - Driving Databases
Posted by: bpc on Apr 22, 2005 1:01 PM [Report this comment]
The worst part of the Real ID Act of 2005 is Section 203 which will mandate that
states must sign-on to the Driver License Agreement (DLA).
What does this mean ? It means that states will totally have their driving databases
linked and ALL personal information will be accessible including your Social Security
Number. Prime information for identity theft. What esle ? Canada and Mexico will
participate in this DLA as well. So your personal information will be available to
foreign officials and there is no distinction between honest and corrupt officials
within North America especially Mexico.
Look at thet DLA Document (PDF) . Concerning Canada and Mexico, look on page 4, item
11 in the PDF Document.
What else does this DLA entail as well ? It means that traffic violations even in
foreign countries will go against your home state driving record with points. Another
part of section 203 require that ALL motor vehicle violations are on your driving
record even tickets for busted taillight, illegal parking. Most states will only put
moving violations or violations that accure points on your record while non-moving
violations such as equipment, parking are not recorded.
This legislation has good ideas but bad consequences. Remember, the road to hell is
paved with good intentions.
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
» RE: The worst - Section 203 - Driving Databases Posted by: elmysterio
A different take:
Posted by: thoth on Apr 23, 2005 11:57 AM [Report this comment]
How about they are not preparing mearsures to keep others out, but are getting ready
to keep the United States population "IN".
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
A secure NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD would protect legal immigrants and US citizens.
Posted by: mariannephillips on Apr 23, 2005 3:44 PM [Report this comment]
Having lived and worked as an educator in over 12 foreign countries, I have had to
submit to many invasions of my "USA" rights (AIDS test & surrender passport-Saudi
Arabia; total control of all whether citizen or foreigner-China; fingerprinted "alien
ID card"-Japan, etc.) none of which I would recommend for the USA. However, the USA
immigation service (INS-prior to 9/11) lacked and still lacks any reasonable controls
or clear monitoring of who is/was entering and staying in the USA, legally or
illegally. We have over 6,000 miles of virtually unguarded land borders alone. There
are over TEN MILLION ILLEGAL immigrants using taxpayer-funded programs in healthcare,
food stamps, public education, housing and employment. Fears of loss of privacy
should we have a national ID are truly specious: there IS NO PRIVACY ANY MORE! Your
SSN and other "personal" data is already available to identity thieves and anyone
else, as I --and millions of other Americans--have found to my great chagrin. I would
gladly have a national, secure ID/passport card (which we all will need by 2007 to
re-enter the USA from Canada and Mexico, and sooner from other places in the
Americas) and a national driver's license based on its information. I would welcome
my ID's being protected from increasingly adept predators, and my standard of
living's being preserved against the increasing numbers of illegals coming into a
cozy system that protects them and their slave-wage employers from the law, the same
laws that are supposed to protect the legal and law-abiding among us, but which, at
least now, actually discriminate against those who follow the rules. My civil
liberties--and the vast majority of the rest of us all as law-abiding, taxpaying
citizens-- have been curtailed in order to "protect" the "rights" of illegal
immigrants, their illegal network of forgers and scam artists, and the entire network
of employers who knowingly employ them to do work at slave wages in order to bump up
their bottom line. Let's start thinking rationally, compassionately and clearly to
protect all who live or wish to live in the USA and abide by its laws in a democratic
and cooperative manner. Let's put our efforts into improving education and
opportunities for Americans and legal immigrants who are productive members of
society--or who would like to be, if they have a chance. Illegal activity should be
PROSECUTED, NOT PROTECTED!
[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »]
» RE: A secure NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD would protect legal immigrants and US
citizens. Posted by: bpc
» RE: A secure NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD would protect legal immigrants and US
citizens. Posted by: mariannephillips
» RE: A secure NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD would protect legal immigrants and US
citizens. Posted by: elmysterio
» RE: A secure NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD would protect legal immigrants and US
citizens. Posted by: Gma1
--
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I intend to last long enough to put out of business all COck-suckers
and other beneficiaries of the institutionalized slavery and genocide.
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"The army that will defeat terrorism doesn't wear uniforms, or drive
Humvees, or calls in air-strikes. It doesn't have a high command, or
high security, or a high budget. The army that can defeat terrorism
does battle quietly, clearing minefields and vaccinating children. It
undermines military dictatorships and military lobbyists. It subverts
sweatshops and special interests.Where people feel powerless, it
helps them organize for change, and where people are powerful, it
reminds them of their responsibility." ~~~~ Author Unknown ~~~~
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