Raha Jorjani
December 14, 2005
iranian.com

There is a new law before Congress that will have a devastating impact on Iranian immigrants.  In 1996, there was a wave of new legislation that expanded the kinds of crimes that would make non-citizens deportable and made detention mandatory for many.  The effects of the anti-immigrant 1996 laws are still being deeply felt by immigrant communities. But just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse... they did.  Today, there is a new bill, HR 4437, that immigrant rights advocates are calling the most dangerous piece of legislation that they have seen since 1996.  

Iranians should pay close attention to HR 4437.  If passed, section 404 of this bill would deny admission to ANY citizen, subject, national, or resident of a country that does not have a repatriation agreement with the U.S.  This means people from Iran!  HR 4437 is frightening legislation that makes it even easier than it already is to detain and deport immigrants and criminalizes the families of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. 

Another shocking provision of the new law is one that eliminates the limits on detention that were put in place by the Supreme Court in 2001 when it found that indefinite detention was unconstitutional.  Currently, when a person has been ordered deported but is still being detained, their case must be reviewed after 90-days and 180-days. 

If HR 4437 passes, people from certain countries can be detained indefinitely.  Iranians already spend long periods in detention since the lack of diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. make it harder to obtain the travel documents required to deport someone.  The new law also expands the types of crimes that make a non-citizen removable from the U.S.  For example, under this law, three DUI convictions would result in permanent banishment of a non-citizen from the U.S., even if they had a greencard. 

But wait, there’s more.  HR 4437 makes unlawful presence not just a violation of immigration laws, but an actual criminal offense in the U.S.  And it’s not just non-citizens who are affected, but their lawful permanent resident or citizen family members can also be criminalized and punished. HR 4437 allows criminal charges to be brought against resident and citizen family members who “assist” or “induce” an undocumented person to remain in the U.S. in “reckless disregard” of the fact that the person is not lawfully present.  This overly broad language puts at risk anyone who may know or suspect that someone is undocumented but does not turn them in.    

While there are several provisions that uniquely and directly impact Iranians, the bill is an overall threat to the human rights of all immigrants, their families, and their communities.

Ok, now, what can you do?

Be Informed.  HR 4437 would have outrageous consequences, only a few of which have been mentioned here.  For more information about the effects of this bill, you can go to the website of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyer’s Guild:  NationalImmigrationProject.org.  Look for “Sensenbrenner Legislation” or the “Border Protection Bill”. The actual text of the bill can be viewed at this website.

Take Action.  This bill will be going to the House floor December 14! Call and Fax your representatives letting them know that you oppose this legislation!  Let them know that this bill undermines basic due process protections, notions of fundamental fairness, and human rights obligations. 

Educate Your Community. You can contact your local media and start educating our community about this new law. 

Raha Jorjani is an Iranian law graduate and legal representative at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project where she represents immigrant detainees in removal proceedings.  She can be reached at (520) 868-0191 ext. 108 or at rjorjani@firrp.org.