Subject: Tightening the screws on immigrants and their friends Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 10:09:37 -0600 Message-ID: <D48A6EB6D9D4DB469DE4AE97AFE822070147A0CD@COKE.uwec.edu> From: "Kaldjian, Paul J." <KALDJIAN@uwec.edu>
Chris and all of UWEC's Amnesty International group,
Thank you for doing such a conscientious job with Amnesty this semester,
and for including me in all of your emails.
Maybe you are familiar with it, but I have just learned of an bill that
is right now being debated in the House of Representatives that would
have drastic consequences for who we are as a country, and for how we
treat those who look to the United States as a haven. I am not sure if
Amnesty is involved in this at a national level, but as the advisor for
the campus group I feel I should share this. It seems there are many
issues that intersect with Amnesty's mission.
I am referring to the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal
Immigration Control Act H.R. 4437
<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bil
l
s&docid=f:h4437ih.txt.pdf> , of which that xenophobic Rep. from the
other side of our state is a sponsor.
H.R. 4733 stacks the deck against asylum seekers who flee their
countries on an emergency basis to our shores. It mandates
extraordinary powers of detention of undocumented arrivals to the
Homeland Security Department, undercuts review processes, requires
employers to investigate and verify immigration status, and criminalizes
anyone who extends hospitality to undocumented arrivals, regardless of
whether or not they fled poverty or torture and death squads, and came
seeking work or safety. The hospitality some Americans showed in the
1980's and 90's to Central American refugees fleeing death squads on
their way to Canada would now be an aggravated felony if H.R. 4733
passes, for which they could now be punished with imprisonment, fines
or property confiscation -- just like a drug dealer.
Please check out the information at
http://www.mcc.org/us/washington/hotlines/posadas.html (note, if the
faith perspective affronts one's sensibilities, please forgive me and
try to look beyond them for the content -- it is an earnest overview and
the Mennonite Central Committee has been at the forefront of
international peace, justice and non-violent conflict resolution issues
for many decades) or at
http://www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=777 .
If the information from the above invigorates the need to do something,
consider telling your congressperson what you think -- you can make a
simple phone call to your congressional representative through the
congressional switchboard, at 202-224-3121. The websites suggest other
action ideas.
The House vote is scheduled for today, Thursday, Dec. 15.
Paul J. Kaldjian
Assistant Professor of Geography
Department of Geography and Anthropology
University of Wisconsin -- Eau Claire
Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004
email: kaldjian@uwec.edu