<\/center><\/p>\n
JOINT LETTER IN OPPOSITION OF
REAL ID Act of 2005 (HR Bill 418) <\/b><\/p>\n
February 03, 2005<\/p>\n
Dear Member of Congress:<\/p>\n
We, the under-signed organizations and individuals, urge you to oppose Section 101 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R.418) which would have a devastating impact on legitimate asylum-seekers and refugees in this country. This bill includes provisions that will make it much harder for refugees to get asylum in this country — and could lead to their deportation into the hands of their persecutors. <\/p>\n
Specifically, we oppose the following parts of Section 101:<\/p>\n
Section 101 will bar many legitimate refugees who have fled brutal human rights abuses — including torture, rape, and other horrific violence from receiving asylum. Refugees often flee for their lives in situations that do not allow them to gather "corroborating evidence" and it is often impossible for them to subsequently track down these kinds of documents — especially given their lack of resources and the lack of funded legal representation. Persecutors’ main concern in most cases is harming the applicant, not explaining the reasons for their actions, and the applicant’s main concern is — and should be — escaping this harm, not documenting the reasons for it. The REAL ID Act would place an enormous and unnecessary burden on asylum seekers by requiring them to prove with unrealistic precision what is going on in their persecutors’ minds. Finally, these provisions also ignore the fact that refugees who suffer from the after-effects of torture and trauma — including survivors of rape or forced abortions – may appear lacking in emotion or have difficulty making eye contact, making "demeanor" a particularly poor indicator of credibility for those asylum seekers. <\/p>\n
Section 101 of the bill will have devastating consequences for bona fide asylum-seekers and refugees without making our nation safer. We, the undersigned urge you to oppose Section 101 of the REAL ID Act.<\/p>\n
Thank you for your consideration of our views.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Organizations<\/p>\n
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)<\/p>\n
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)<\/p>\n
American Federation of Labor- Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)<\/p>\n
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)<\/p>\n
American Jewish Committee<\/p>\n
Amnesty International USA<\/p>\n
Anti-Defamation League<\/p>\n
Asian Law Caucus<\/p>\n
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California<\/p>\n
Bill of Rights Defense Committee<\/p>\n
Catholic Charities USA<\/p>\n
Center for Gender and Refugee Studies
Univ. of Calif., Hastings College of the Law<\/p>\n
Center for National Security Studies<\/p>\n
Episcopal Migration Ministries<\/p>\n
Golden Vision Foundation <\/p>\n
Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program Harvard Law School<\/p>\n
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, Chicago, Illinois<\/p>\n
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society<\/p>\n
Hmong National Development<\/p>\n
Human Rights First<\/p>\n
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights<\/p>\n
Immigration Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services, Boston, MA<\/p>\n
Irish American Unity Conference<\/p>\n
Jewish Council for Public Affairs<\/p>\n
Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Inc.<\/p>\n
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights<\/p>\n
Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center, Chicago, Illinois<\/p>\n
The Multiracial Activist<\/p>\n
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC)<\/p>\n
National Council of La Raza <\/p>\n
National Immigration Forum<\/p>\n
Peace Action WI<\/p>\n
Refugee Law Center, Boston, MA<\/p>\n
Tahirih Justice Center<\/p>\n
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations<\/p>\n
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee<\/p>\n
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)<\/p>\n
Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs<\/p>\n
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children<\/p>\n
World Organization for Human Rights USA<\/p>\n
World Relief<\/p>\n
Individuals*<\/p>\n
Muneer Ahmad
Associate Professor
American University, Washington College of Law<\/p>\n
Katy Z. Allen<\/p>\n
Deborah Anker
Lecturer on Law
Director, Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program Harvard Law<\/p>\n
Marianne Artusio
Associate Professor of Law
Director of Clinical Education, Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center<\/p>\n
Michael Avery
President, National Lawyers Guild<\/p>\n
Roxana C. Bacon
Adjunct Professor of Law
Partner, Littler Mendelson Bacon & Dear <\/p>\n
Jon Bauer
Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Asylum & Human Rights Clinic
University of Connecticut School of Law <\/p>\n
Angela Bean, Oakland, California
Business Owner<\/p>\n
Adele Bernhard
Associate Professor of Law
Pace Law School<\/p>\n
Richard A. Boswell
Professor of Law
Univ. of Calif., Hastings College of the Law <\/p>\n
Melinda Branscomb
Professor, Seattle University School of Law<\/p>\n
Mary Brittingham
Associate Professor of Clinical Law
George Washington University Law School<\/p>\n
Elizabeth M. Bruch
Associate Professor of Law
Valparaiso University School of Law<\/p>\n
Michelle Caldera
Davis Clinical Teaching Fellow
Asylum & Human Rights Clinic
University of Connecticut Law School<\/p>\n
Bridgette Carr
Assistant Clinical Professor of Law
Ave Maria School of Law<\/p>\n
Michael J. Churgin
Raybourne Thompson Centennial Professor in Law
The University of Texas School of Law <\/p>\n
Melissa Crow
Assistant Professor of Clinical Law
Brooklyn Law School<\/p>\n
Jeffrey D. Dillman
Associate Professor of Law
Milton Kramer Law Clinic
Case Western Reserve University School of Law<\/p>\n
Jane Dolkart
Visiting Professor of Law
Washington College of Law
American University<\/p>\n
Stephen Ellmann
Professor of Law
Associate Dean for Faculty Development
New York Law School.<\/p>\n
Taylor Flynn
Associate Professor
Northeastern University School of Law<\/p>\n
Eric M. Freedman
Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law
Hofstra Law School<\/p>\n
Niels W. Frenzen
Clinical Associate Professor of Law
University of Southern California<\/p>\n
Pamela Goldberg
Research Scholar, New York Law School<\/p>\n
Dina Haynes
Visitor\/Practitioner in Residence
American University
Washington College of Law <\/p>\n
Barbara Hines
Clinical Professor
Immigration Clinic
University of Texas School of Law<\/p>\n
Marsha Huie
Professor of Law
College of Law
The University of Tulsa <\/p>\n
Sarah Ignatius
Lecturer on Immigration Law
Boston College Law School<\/p>\n
Lisa Koop
Supervising Attorney and Teaching Scholar Notre Dame Immigration Clinic<\/p>\n
Daniel M. Kowalski
Editor-in-Chief
Bender’s Immigration Bulletin (LexisNexis)<\/p>\n
Lynn Marcus
Director, Immigration Law Clinic
Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona<\/p>\n
Prof. Peter Margulies
Roger Williams University School of Law<\/p>\n
Finbarr McCarthy
Associate Professor of Law
Temple University School of Law<\/p>\n
Elizabeth McCormick
Lecturer and Staff Attorney
Cornell Legal Aid Clinic
Cornell Law School<\/p>\n
Estelle McKee
Co-Director
Cornell Law School Asylum & Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic<\/p>\n
Elliott S. Milstein
Professor of Law
American University Washington College of Law<\/p>\n
Jennifer Moore
Professor of Law
University of New Mexico School of Law<\/p>\n
Kimberly E. O’Leary
Professor of Law
Thomas M. Cooley Law School<\/p>\n
Lori Nessel
Associate Professor
Director, Immigration & Human Rights Clinic
Center for Social Justice
Seton Hall University School of Law<\/p>\n
Reta Noblett-Feld
Clinical Law Professor
University of Iowa College of Law<\/p>\n
Michele Pistone
Professor and Director
Clinical Program & CARES Clinic Villanova University School of Law<\/p>\n
Marc R. Poirier
Professor of Law
Seton Hall University School of Law<\/p>\n
Jaya Ramji
Advocacy Fellow
Center for Applied Legal Studies
Georgetown University Law Center<\/p>\n
Jon Romberg
Assoc. Professor, Seton Hall University School of Law<\/p>\n
Lory Diana Rosenberg
IDEA Immigration Defense & Expert Assistance, Legal Consultation<\/p>\n
Karen Ross
MALD Candidate 2005
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy<\/p>\n
John A. Scanlan
Professor of Law
Indiana University School of Law<\/p>\n
Andrew I. Schoenholtz, J.D., Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Institute for the Study of International Migration
Georgetown University<\/p>\n
Philip G. Schrag
Professor of Law
Georgetown University<\/p>\n
Elisabeth Semel
Acting Clinical Professor of Law
Boalt Hall, University of California at Berkeley<\/p>\n
Ragini Shah
Clinical Staff Attorney
Morningside Heights Legal Services, Inc.\/ Child Advocacy Clinic
Columbia University Law School<\/p>\n
Ann Shalleck
Professor of Law and Carrington Shields Scholar
American University Washington College of Law<\/p>\n
Careen Shannon
Adjunct Professor of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law<\/p>\n
Beth Stickney, Esq.
Executive Director
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project<\/p>\n
Robert N. Strassfeld
Professor of Law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law<\/p>\n
Carlina Tapia-Ruano
Principal
Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, PC<\/p>\n
Bernard Trujillo
Assistant Professor
U. Wisconsin Law School<\/p>\n
Diane Uchimiya
Advocacy Fellow\/Immigration Attorney
Center for Applied Legal Studies,
Georgetown University Law Center<\/p>\n
Joseph A. Vail<\/p>\n
Rachel Vorspan
Associate Professor
Fordham University School of Law<\/p>\n
Jonathan Weinberg
Professor of Law
Wayne State University<\/p>\n
Deborah M. Weissman
Professor of Law
University of North Carolina School of Law<\/p>\n
Harry H. Wellington
New York Law School<\/p>\n
Virgil Wiebe
Director of Clinical Education
Assistant Professor of Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis<\/p>\n
Arthur D. Wolf
Professor of Law
Director, Legislative Institute
Western New England College School of Law<\/p>\n
Phil Worden
Attorney<\/p>\n
Leah Wortham
Associate Professor of Law
Catholic University Law School<\/p>\n
Lauris Wren
Attorney-In-Charge\/ Clinical Instructor
Hofstra Law School Asylum Clinic <\/p>\n
Jennifer L. Wright
Associate Professor of Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law<\/p>\n
Stephen Yale-Loehr
Co-Director
Cornell Law School Asylum & Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
*For individual signers, institutional affiliations are listed for identification purposes only <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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