|
Background
HR 4437 is anti-immigrant legislation --
masquerading as an "immigration enforcement" bill -- that passed the
U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 16, 2005. No action on this bill
is expected in the Senate, but its provisions will likely be addressed
in House-Senate negotiations if and when the Senate passes its own
version of immigration reform.
What does
"'criminalization' of immigrants" mean?
It means the U.S. would treat as lawbreakers millions
of immigrant men, women, and children who live in our communities, go to
our schools, and work alongside us. This would tax our already burdened
criminal justice system and misuse taxpayer monies.
How would HR 4437 do
this?
Section 203 of HR 4437 would make it a crime for
immigrants to be in the U.S. in violation of immigration laws or
regulations. Immigrants convicted of this crime could be punished by
imprisonment for a year and a day and/or a fine. Under current law,
unlawful presence is a civil, not a criminal, violation of immigration
law.
What violations of
the immigration laws or regulations would be covered?
Immigrants who committed
even minor violations of immigration laws could be criminalized.
These people could become felons:
-
Babies whose parents
brought them to the U.S. without a visa.
-
Honor roll college
students who are not taking the number of courses required by their
student visas.
-
A foreign business
executive who does not provide a written change-of-address
notification to the Dept. of Homeland Security within 10 days.
-
A hospitalized tourist
whose visa has expired.
Could such a criminal
violation be "cured"?
No. Long after the problem is resolved and the
immigrant has been granted lawful status -- or even U.S. citizenship --
he or she would remain liable for prosecution for having been in the
U.S. in violation of immigration laws.
Would someone who is
found guilty of this felony be eligible for lawful immigration status in
the future?
No. Section 201 of HR 4437 would make conviction for
presence in violation of immigration laws an aggravated felony.
This carries devastating consequences: automatic deportation, as well
as ineligibility for asylum, cancellation of removal, voluntary
departure, or practically any lawful status in the future.
Is this a back-door
way to allow state and local police to enforce federal immigration law?
Yes. State and local police with no immigration law
training could claim new authority as enforcers of criminal law to
decide when someone who "looks foreign" or "sounds foreign" has violated
federal criminal immigration law.
Couldn’t the federal
government just use its prosecutorial discretion to not prosecute
immigrants as felons?
Yes, but do we really want Congress to enact yet
another immigration law that is so overreaching and senseless that the
best argument its supporters can make for it is that it would not be
enforced?
Would this do
anything to solve our immigration problems?
No. This provision would criminalize whole
communities of people. Most Americans recognize the real solution lies
in the opposite direction -- providing immigrants with a reasonable
mechanism to work their way out of the shadows and into the American
dream.
|
