Senate Immigration Provisions Erode Civil Liberties and Human Rights

Washington (May 25, 2006) - The Rights Working Group expresses opposition today to provisions in the Senate immigration bill (S. 2611) that will erode the civil liberties and human rights of many people in America, especially non-citizens. Many of the enforcement measures in the Senate bill are similar to provisions in the punitive Sensenbrenner-King House bill (H.R. 4437) which Rights Working Group opposed. While amendments were adopted to ameliorate a few of the harshest provisions, many remaining provisions are inhumane and counter-productive. Both the Senate and House bills contain objectionable provisions that should be removed when both bills are considered in the conference committee.

"While the Senate has taken a historic step with this bill, it contains serious encroachments on fundamental civil rights and liberties," stated Paul M. Igasaki, Executive Director of the Rights Working Group. "Sections of the bill would allow individuals to be detained for lengthy periods of time without due process. Other provisions would allow the government to remove non-citizens without any judicial review, thereby destroying families and communities. These provisions should be removed or rejected because they violate basic principles of justice and fairness. No immigration proposal that compromises civil liberties and human rights in this way should become law."

PRESS RELEASE