ACLU: Immigration legislation falls short

3/26/2007

WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union said that immigration legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress last week "undermines privacy."

In a statement released on Friday, the ACLU said that while it welcomes the new legislation as a "first step," the bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday "falls short from a civil liberties perspective."

The Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy, or STRIVE, Act of 2007 sets new standards for border security, employment of non-citizens, the U.S. visa program, and the process for earning citizenship. The legislation was co-sponsored by Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.

The ACLU said it disagreed with the concept of a secured Social Security card called for in the bill. The STRIVE Act bars the creation of a "national identification card," but Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, said that the plan to issue cards with improved security features was "not only financially and logistically daunting, it creates the possibility that we will become a society where 'your papers' will need to be presented at every turn."

Other provisions of the STRIVE Act improve upon previous immigration reform bills by taking a moderated approach to detention measures, the ACLU said. The legislation was also commended for calling for judicial review in the immigration process.

The ACLU urged Congress to cut the provision mandating the secured Social Security card in order to avoid "constitutional problems" that would arise from the legislation



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