sent from tasha d.

i'm not big on the whole email your congressman but this is crap; it's one thing to restrict immigrants and asylum seekers from actual "terrorist nations" but further restrictions would harm people from those terrorist nations of haiti and el salvador and sierra leone and liberia. and let's not talk about the long-term imprisonment of those who have been traumatized/ tortured... while you're at it, read an article from yesterday's ny times.

February 8, 2004


TAKE ACTION


Urge Congress to Preserve Asylum in the US, Oppose the "REAL ID" Act (HR-418)

The House of Representatives is about to vote on HR-418, a bill that could prevent victims of persecution from finding asylum in the United States. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who introduced this bill, claims that it would prevent terrorists from obtaining asylum. But terrorists are already categorically barred from asylum, and Amnesty International USA believes the new provisions would, instead, harm legitimate asylum-seekers who represent no threat to U.S. security, such as women who have been victims of severe domestic abuse, rape or female genital mutilation.

Act Now!
The House may vote on this bill Wednesday, February 9. Please contact your Representative TODAY and urge her/him to reject the REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418), a bill that would sharply restrict the ability of victims of persecution to find asylum in the United States.


Send an email or fax


And make a phone call- Contact your Representative through the Capitol Hill Switchboard at (202) 225-3121. Click here to find the officials who represent you:


You can base your call on the following talking points:

- As your constituent, I urge you to oppose the REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418), a bill that could prevent victims of persecution from finding asylum in the United States. I am particularly concerned about sections 101, 103, and 104 of the bill.

- Section 101 is titled, "Preventing Terrorists from Obtaining Asylum," but terrorists and suspected terrorists are already categorically barred from asylum and this bill would not actually protect any Americans from terrorists.

- This bill would place burdens on asylum-seekers that would likely fall hardest on the most vulnerable among them, such as women who have been victims of gender-related persecution.

- Immigrants, including asylum-seekers and asylees, could be wrongfully deported under the extremely broad definitions of terrorist activity in Sections 103 and 104.

- H.R. 418 also makes no allowance for innocent people who have been forced to provide money or shelter to rebel groups, usually under threat of death. Fearing for their safety, these individuals flee to the United States for protection from such threats and extortion. This bill would confuse victims of terrorism with terrorists, in other words, and penalize the victims as if they were their own persecutors.


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Rosa Del Angel
Amnesty International USA
Online Action Center