Analysis of key provisions of 9/11 implementation bills

Analysis of key provisions of 9/11 implementation bills
From: Katherine Newell Bierman

Rights Working Group
Senior Staff Attorney, Immigrant Rights, NAPALC
Washington, DC 20036
e-mail: _knewell [at] napalc.org_ (mailto:knewell [at] napalc.org)


Thanks to everyone who is contacting their representatives regarding the
9/11 Commission recommendations legislation currently before conferees in Congres
s.

Attached please find an analysis compiled by CNSS of provisions of H.R. 10,
S. 2845 and White House Letter that impact civil liberties, human rights and
immigrants. This memo compiles the work of a number of advocates and
addresses Patriot II, court-stripping, and immigration provisions, as well as
provisions concerning FOIA, budget disclosure, information sharing, the civil
liberties board, congressional access to intelligence, the IG and the Geneva
Conventions. For additional information on this memo, please contact CNSS Equal
Justice Works Fellow Brittany Benowitz at _bbenowitz [at] cnss.org_
(mailto:bbenowitz [at] cnss.org) .

Please note that many of the expanded law enforcement and surveillance
powers listed in the CNSS memo amend the USA PATRIOT Act, or were originally
included in some form in the draft “Domestic Security Enhancement Act,� also
known as “Patriot II�. We are therefore looking at what could be the greatest
expansion of the USA PATRIOT Act in three years.

In addition to the provisions listed in this memo, please note:

--H.R. 10, Sec. 3006 – Greatly restricts the types of identity documents that
noncitizens can present to the federal government (White House opposes this
provision)

--H.R. 10, Sec. 3007 – Subjects all individuals who entered the U.S. without
inspection to expedited removal (i.e. removal without even an administrative
hearing) unless they have been physically present for more than five years
(White House opposes this provision)

--H.R. 10, Sec. 3008 – Places new barriers on legitimate asylum-seekers
(White House opposes this provision)

--H.R. 10, Sec. 3052 – Requires proof of citizenship or immigration status in
order to receive a driver’s license. The duration of the driver’s license
will be linked to one’s immigration status (White House proposes modified
version of this provision)


This is a "pre-compromise" list of provisions. Please note that despite
White House insistence that their preferences are immigrant-friendly, they still
advocate a number of harmful anti-immigrant and anti-civil liberties
provisions, in addition to rejecting a number of helpful provisions.

Additional Materials and Action Alerts:

Public documents and additional action alerts on all these provisions and
the bills in general are available at _http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org_
(http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/) . Human Rights First has been collecting and
distributing these and additional materials. Please contact Cory Smith at
_SmithC [at] humanrightsfirst.org_ (mailto:SmithC [at] humanrightsfirst.org) . The National
Immigration Forum is distributing email updates on the progress of the bills and the
immigration provisions (see below). The Forum also has a collection of
materials on the immigration concerns at _http://www.immigrationforum.org_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/) .


Please note NAPALC has a Groundspring "letter to Congress" action alert
available at
_http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=5477_
(http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=5477) . This message is designed to work for people who want to
weigh in with a broad and general message. Action alerts collected at
_http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org_ (http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/) also provide more
specific messages.








=======================================
Update on 9/11 Bill Conference Committee Action
October 22, 2004
Maurice Belanger
Senior Policy Associate
National Immigration Forum
mbelanger [at] immigrationforum.org
Here is a brief update on what has happened with the 9/11 implementation
legislation that has been in Conference Committee this week.
With time running out before the election, the House and Senate have not
reached agreement on their very different 9/11 implementation bills. The chief
obstacle to progress has been Title I, the part dealing with reform of our
intelligence agencies. The House bill favors the Department of Defense, which
now has control over most of the intelligence budget; the Senate bill is in
line with the 9/11 Commission recommendations favoring a strong National
Intelligence Director.
Public Pressure
But that does not mean that the battle over the anti-immigration provisions
included in the House bill has not been intense. It is too early to say how
we will ultimately fare. Yesterday, a group called “9/11 Families for a
Secure America� took out a full-page ad in Roll Call (a paper circulated on
Capitol Hill) supporting the anti-immigration provisions of the House bill and
making the claim that the 9/11 Commission recommended the anti-immigration
measures included in the House bill. The 9/11 Families for a Secure America is a
splinter group of 9/11 victim families that supports the anti-immigration
agenda of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Peter Gadiel,
the leader of the group, is on the Board of Directors of FAIR.
On our side, the Chair and Co-Chair of the 9/11 Commission sent a letter to
Conferees noting specifically that the anti-immigration provisions in the
House bill were not recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, and should be
rejected. The steering committee of 9/11 families continued to put strong
pressure on Congress in support of the 9/11 Commission recommendations (and
therefore the Senate bill). The press has been very much on our side. Today,
another splinter group of 9/11 families, “September 11th Families for Peaceful
Tomorrows,� sent a letter to the Conferees agreeing with the letter sent
yesterday by the 9/11 Commissioners specifically saying that, "[t]his bill is not the
right occasion for tackling controversial immigration and law enforcement
issues that go well beyond the Commission’s recommendations.� Last but not
least, there has been a tremendous amount of advocacy by groups around the
country. Here is a sampling of letters and press from the past few days:
Letter from the 9/11 Commissioners (reference to the immigration provisions
is on page 4):
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/TheDebate/NationalSecurity/911_Comm
ission_letter_10200.pdf_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/TheDebate/NationalSecurity/911_Commission_letter_10200.pdf)
Editorials from papers around the country:
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=610_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=610)
Letter from pro-immigrant advocacy groups:
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/TheDebate/NationalSecurity/911_bill
_sign-on_letter.pdf_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/TheDebate/NationalSecurity/911_bill_sign-on_letter.pdf)
Letter from 17 Asian Pacific American groups:
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/PressRoom/APA_letter_to_conferees10
2004-NAPALC.pdf_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/PressRoom/APA_letter_to_conferees102004-NAPALC.pdf)
Letter from 4 national Latino groups:
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/PressRoom/9-11_Conference_Latino_le
tter_102104.pdf_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/documents/PressRoom/9-11_Conference_Latino_letter_102104.pdf)
You can also read the news stories generated this week on this issue by
going to the News Clips archives on our Web site:
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=53_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=53)
The Conference
Yesterday, Republicans introduced a “compromise� package. On immigration,
the “compromise� drops expedited removal, but makes some other measures
worse. Democrats have continued to insist that the worst of the anti-immigration
provisions be dropped. The White House has issued a Statement of Policy
that is more in line with the Senate bill. Most of the action, though, is
taking place among four senior members of the Conference Committee: Susan Collins
(R-ME), Chair of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee; Joe Lieberman
(D-CT), Ranking Member of that Committee; Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), who serves on
the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Jane Harman (D-CA),
who is Ranking Member of that Committee.
At the end of the day Friday, these four Conferees held a press conference
to say they would continue working over the weekend and try to wrap up this
legislation before the election. However, the closer we get to the elections,
the more difficult it will be to call members of Congress back to Washington
to vote on a final bill. It is looking increasingly likely (but not
definite) that a final agreement will be pushed back to a lame duck session of
Congress after the election (when Congress will have to take up other business,
such as, for example, passing a budget for the year that began October 1).
Advocacy
In the meantime, the pressure must continue on the Conferees, other members
of Congress, and the President. The other side continues to insist (wrongly)
that the anti-immigration provisions of the House bill are essential
elements of the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and they will try to intimidate any
member of Congress who disagrees with them by claiming that by rejecting the
anti-immigration provisions, the Representative or Senator is “soft on
terrorism.� It is not clear that, without your help, enough of the Conferees
will continue to hold up under this pressure.
You can communicate a brief message to your Representative and Senators by
going to the action alert on our Web site:
_http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=654_
(http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=654)
There is a link to a form letter on the Web site of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association.
In addition, here is a list of phone numbers and fax numbers for members of
the Conference Committee:
Senate Conferees
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) - 202-224-2523; 202-224-2693 (fax) ALSO
Governmental Affairs Committee at 202-224-4751; 202-224-9603 (fax)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) - 202-224-3353; 202-228-1382 (fax)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) - 202-224-5641; 202-224-1152 (fax)
Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) - 202-224-2841; 202-228-4131 (fax)
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) - 202-224-4774; 202-224-3514 (fax)
Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) - 202-224-2315; 202-224-6519 (fax)
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) - 202-224-6253; 202-224-2262 (fax)
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) - 202-224-4041; 202-224-9750 (fax)
Sen. Carl Levin(D-MI) - 202-224-6221; 202-224-1388 (fax)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) - 202-224-2152; 202-228-0400 (fax)
Sen. John Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) - 202-224-6472; 202-224-7665
Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) - 202-224-3041; 202-224-2237
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) - 202-224-3224; 202-228-4054
House Conferees
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) - 202-225-4401; 202-226-0779 (fax) ALSO
Intelligence Committee at 202-225-4121; 202-225-1991 (fax)
Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) - 202-225-2305; 202-225-7018 (fax)
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) - 202-225-4561; 202-225-1166 (fax)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) - 202-225-5672; 202-225-0235 (fax)
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) - 202-225-5101; 202-225-3190 (fax)
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) - 202-225-8220; 202-226-7290 (fax)
Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) - 202-225-7919; 202-226-0792 (fax)
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) - 202-225-2876; 202-225-2695 (fax)
======================================================
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
webpage: _http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org_
(http:http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org)
New York: (212)330-8172
Los Angeles: (213)403-0131


Please Donate to National Immigrant Solidarity Network!
Send check pay to:
ActionLA/SEE
1013 Mission St. #6
South Pasadena CA 91030
(All donations are tax deductible)