Thread: Scapegoating Immigrants

Scapegoating Immigrants
Rep. John Conyers, Jr.
April 15, 2005
John Conyers, Jr. is a United States Congressman representing Michigan's 14th district.

Like a bad cold, anti-immigration legislation is back again. Last year, the GOP tried to attach anti-immigrant provisions to the legislation on 9/11 intelligence reform, even though the 9/11 commissioners and the vast majority of the 9/11 families opposed their inclusion. This year, House Republicans have repackaged their anti-immigrant agenda into the so-called "REAL ID Act," which they attached with little notice to the House version of the Iraq Supplemental Appropriations legislation.

The legislation includes numerous provisions limiting our asylum laws, making it easier to deport legal immigrants, denying immigrants long-standing habeas corpus rights, imposing onerous new driver's license requirements on the states, and waiving all federal laws concerning the construction of security fences and barriers. If enacted into law, this legislation will close America's doors to Cubans fleeing Castro; religious minorities escaping religious persecution; and women fleeing sex trafficking, rape and forced abortions.

The asylum provisions would make it significantly harder for people fleeing persecution to prove their asylum claims by raising the evidentiary requirements and imposing harsh new corroboration requirements. Refugees who cannot meet the higher standards will be returned to countries where they were persecuted, possibly to face terror, torture and death. In essence, the proponents are using the public's fear of terrorism to radically change asylum law for all asyleesâ€â€

Strictly political propaganda.Millions of illegal anything,including immigrants is proof enough-not a scapegoat.

Under the proposed new habeas corpus restrictions, immigrants will be prevented in most cases from challenging their deportation in court.

I think the word he's leaving out here is 'illegal' immigrant. I don't think that illegal immigrants SHOULD be able to go to court to challenge their deportation. Our courts are for citizens...

RR

Originally Posted by rickesteves

Strictly political propaganda.Millions of illegal anything,including immigrants is proof enough-not a scapegoat.

headlines should read

American Citizens: Sacrificial Lambs for Illegal Aliens

Originally Posted by RoadRunner

Under the proposed new habeas corpus restrictions, immigrants will be prevented in most cases from challenging their deportation in court.

I think the word he's leaving out here is 'illegal' immigrant. I don't think that illegal immigrants SHOULD be able to go to court to challenge their deportation. Our courts are for citizens...

RR

Judiciary Act of 1789 that established the courts provides:

28 U.S.C. Sec. 1350, the Alien Tort Statute, explicitly confers to aliens the privilege of suing for an actionable "tort only in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States"


under the Constitution and the law, an alien has no right to challenge deportation for "illegal invasion"

Under the proposed new habeas corpus restrictions, immigrants will be prevented in most cases from challenging their deportation in court. This means that parents with U.S. citizen children could be deported on erroneous factual determinations without any court review. Ironically, the same Republican Party that just called an "emergency legislative session" to champion habeas corpus review for Terri Schiavo is seeking to gut habeas for deserving immigrants and their families

HEART BE STILL, please

Correct me if I'm mistaken but wasn't Terri Shiavo AN AMERICAN????

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

HEART BE STILL, please

Correct me if I'm mistaken but wasn't Terri Shiavo AN AMERICAN????

that's what I said too. Maybe her parents should have kidnapped her and smuggled her to Mexico then crossed the border without papers

why would a Congressman let an innocent woman that is a citizen of this country suffer the torturous death of dehydration and starvation and defend "illegal aliens"? didn't he take an oath of office to defend the Constitution -- to protect life and liberty?