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Home » News » Archives » ACLU of Illinois Joins Local Coalition Supporting Rights of Immigrants, Proposed Civil Liberties Restoration Act
ACLU of Illinois Joins Local Coalition Supporting Rights of Immigrants, Proposed Civil Liberties Restoration Act The ACLU of Illinois has joined with a group of Chicago area immigrant rights organizations to support the proposed Civil Liberties Restoration Act designed to redress some of the worst abuses of the USA Patrtiot Act that have turned the "war on terrorism" into a "war on immigrants." Statement of Connie Y. Chung, Legal Fellow American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois RE: Civil Liberties Restoration Act June 16, 2004 Good morning. My name is Connie Y. Chung and I am a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. On behalf of the more than 20,000 members of our organization from across the State of Illinois, it is my honor to appear at this event to add the ACLU�s voice of support to those seeking adoption of the Civil Liberties Restoration Act. When families all across America and throughout the State of Illinois gather this summer for holidays and reunions, their conversation no doubt will turn to heroic tales celebrating the arduous journeys their ancestors made from other places on this globe to the United States. Our foreparents made this difficult passage to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. For the new Americans who have made this journey more recently, however, harsh, arbitrary immigration laws and policies have placed a figurative �Not Welcome� sign at our borders. In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, immigration officials in the United States have directed a number of actions aimed at non-citizens that undermine our core American values without enhancing our national security. The Civil Liberties Restoration Act restores some of the most important of these essential civil liberties. Some of these critical rights were lost under the PATRIOT Act. Some of the due process protections were lost when Congress made changes in the immigration laws in 1996. And, some basic constitutional protections are being undermined by law enforcement practices. The Civil Liberties Restoration Act provides some basic steps toward restoring fairness and American values to our immigration policies. The law would protect vulnerable children from being separated from their parents as a result of the arbitrary and egregious immigration policies directed by the Bush Administration. The law would prohibit ethnic communities from being targeted by racist and xenophobic law enforcement practices � practices that undermine the relationship between law enforcement and those communities, often making us less safe. And, the new law would restore basic constitutional values, including due process, privacy, and a transparent legal system. Because the immigrant experience is so universal in America, it is no wonder that the Civil Liberties Restoration Act has received bipartisan sponsorship. The Civil Liberties Restoration Act has received widespread support from politicians and community advocates from all points on the political spectrum. Americans who support this legislation recognize that the harsh steps taken against immigrants in the past several years have not made us safer, only less free. Let us commit ourselves today to honoring the memory of all of our immigrant parents and grandparents by restoring fairness, constitutional values and decency to our system of immigration. Thank you very much. |
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