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Protecting Asylum

Bill takes wrong approach to immigration

Last week the U.S. Senate approved a bill that will greatly change the status of illegal immigrants in this country. The bill generally carries on the tactics the Republican Congress and the Democratic White House have adopted toward immigration in the last few years - with provisions to increase the number of law enforcement officers on the border and to make the deportation process for illegal immigrants more efficient. However, the law that might result from this bill has some disturbing implications. The problems lie not with the Senate's proposal, but with the bill's counterpart in the House of Representatives - which includes provisions that would greatly infringe on the civil liberties of those immigrating to this country for political asylum by President Clinton. The law has a vague provision that has been interpreted to allow immigration officials to hasten the deportation of many immigrants without valid documents, or at least deny bail to the person requesting asylum. The bitter irony of a person fleeing political persecution, only to be imprisoned by the country from which they are seeking aid, seriously questions the principles of individual freedom this nation claims to champion. The present immigration bill, should it pass in the form approved by the House, would only increase these trends to a dangerous extent.
by a single immigration officer and supervisor. That officer would have the option to bypass judicial review and immediately call for the deportation of the person filing the claim, or imprison the person until a means of deportation could be arranged. Not only does this provision give an inordinate amount of power to a single official, but it diffuses the power from its proper place in the judiciary. Any person, regardless of their citizenship status, has the right to due process of law when charged with a crime. This political persecution should be treated no less seriously. This country would never allow a law enforcement official to take on the added responsibilities of a judge and jury in any other situation, and this should not be made an exception.
The members of Congress's joint conference committee are taking on very serious precedents as they decide which provisions will end up on the president's desk. Since it seems inevitable that this bill will pass, Congress needs to reaffirm its support of human rights by passing a version devoid of added restrictions on requests for political asylum.

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