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GROUPS RALLY TO URGE PASSAGE OF REFUGEE PROTECTION BILL
Last year, Senate Bill S. 1940, the Refugee Protection Act.  was introduced to make changes to the treatment of refugees under US immigration law. This law would amend some of the provisions of the restrictive 1996 immigration laws, making it easier for people with valid claims to find protection from persecution and oppression in the US.  Before 1996, asylum seekers could present their claims before an Immigration Judge with all of the safeguards of a formal legal hearing.  The 1996 law changed this to allow for “expedited removal” of asylum seekers.  Under this scheme, INS inspectors are given the authority to reject a person’s asylum application at a port of entry.  According to proponents of the bill, one of the more troubling provisions under which denial of entry currently can be made is when a person arrives without proper documents.  Persons fleeing persecution may not have the time to gather legal documentation of their identity and immigration status and could be denied asylum simply because they do not have the time to prepare a case. 
  
Because S. 1940 has languished in the Judiciary Committee in the Senate for some months, a groups of refugee and civil rights advocacy organizations (including the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society – the oldest immigrant advocacy group in the country) has begun an effort to gather sponsors and support for the bill.  Among the provisions of this bill are the following:   
·        Limiting the use of expedited removal to certain specified situations, 
·        Increasing procedural protections even when expedited removal is used to ensure that people with valid claims are not deported, 
·        Ending the mandatory detention of asylum seekers found to have made valid claims, and 
·        Establishing exceptions to the one-year deadline to file an asylum claim. 
The advocacy groups have drawn up a sample letter that those concerned with this issue can use to write their Senators.  The text of this letter is as follows: 
The Honorable ....
United States Senate 
Washington, DC 20510 
Dear Senator.....: 
I (we) am (are) writing to urge you to be a co-sponsor of S. 1940, The Refugee Protection Act, which will limit the use of expedited removal procedures to immigration emergencies. This bill already has the bi-partisan support of Senators Sam Brownback, Patrick Leahy, Jim Jeffords, Russell Feingold, Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Frank Lautenberg, Bob Graham, and Paul Wellstone. 
In 1996 expedited removal was included in broader immigration legislation in spite of efforts of many Senators to prevent that from happening. Many people in the religious community joined these Senators in expressing concern that expedited removal would harm people fleeing torture and persecution. In the two years since implementation of expedited removal these fears have been realized, as a number of genuine asylum seekers have been wrongly deported under expedited removal procedures. There may well be others who were summarily excluded and sent back to their countries of origin without any U.S. organization knowing about their cases. 
Our country has a long tradition of being a haven for the oppressed and persecuted. The 1996 immigration bill took away some of the safeguards offered to asylum seekers who seek safe haven in our country. This legislation not only made our procedures too strict and inflexible but also set a bad example to other countries that look to the U.S. for leadership on human rights issues. 
S. 1940 does not abolish expedited removal but limits its use to immigration emergencies. At other times, applications for asylum would be considered under procedures designed to ensure that asylum claims are fully examined and that before someone who claims persecution is turned away, he or she has an opportunity to present the claim before an immigration judge. Such procedures would not impose a difficult burden on the government and could very well save lives. 
The risk of sending someone back to face persecution is too great for our country to continue to require these fast-track procedures. I urge you to support S. 1940 and restore fairness to refugees.