June 16, 2004 Letter to President Bush, Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
June 16, 2004
The Honorable John William Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4601
The Honorable George F. Allen
United States Senate
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4604
The Honorable James P. Moran
U.S House of Representatives
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4608
Dear Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran:
I am writing to urge you to support the Civil Liberties Restoration Act (CLRA), a bill recently introduced by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and William Delahunt (D-MA), which would roll back some of the most egregious and ineffectual post-9/11 policies and ensure respect for basic rights and fair treatment under the law.
The CLRA reflects the consensus of security experts that many of the post 9-11 policies have undermined our security while eroding civil liberties. The bill redresses troubling new policies such as arbitrary and indefinite detentions, secret hearings, severe restrictions on due process, and violations of privacy and First Amendment rights. The bill also contains provisions that halt the practice of special registration and call on the U.S. Department of Justice to create a separate and independent immigration court to improve accountability.
The bill would end secret arrests by revoking the government’s current blanket authority to close all deportation hearings. The bill permits closure of all or part of a proceeding only after the government demonstrates a compelling privacy or national security interest before an immigration judge. It also requires that individuals detained for immigration violations are advised of charges within 48 hours and given the right to a fair bond hearing, eliminates criminal penalties for minor technical violations such as failure to report a change of address within ten days, and limits the secret seizure of private databases and individual records.
As a former Marine and Gulf War veteran, I strongly urge you to support this important legislation. We should not be adopting the police state tactics of petty dictators and defunct totalitarian regimes.
Sincerely,
James Landrith