Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Lawyers fearing backlash against clients

Anti-immigration sentiment in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., may affect congressional decisions on immigration law, attorneys say.

Peter Ashman, chairman of the Nevada chapter of the 7,500-member American Immigration Lawyers Association, said as of Monday he had received about 200 e-mails from members.

"Our fear is that there will be a backlash against immigrants in general and this will then be expressed in Congress with legislation that restricts immigration and the rights of immigrants, or targets certain nationalities or ethnicities," Ashman said.

Luis Valera, who leads Hispanic Republicans in Southern Nevada as chairman of the Nevada Republican Hispanic Assembly, said, "There may be a tendency to pass more restrictionist laws in the months to come, which could be a result of reacting emotionally more than thinking things through."

Ashman said that the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 led Congress to pass the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, enacted in 1996.

This law authorizes immigration officials to detain and deport any non-citizen previously convicted of a crime and allows officials to release people at any checkpoint, border, or airport -- eliminating their right to appear before a judge.

"This law was passed because of the mood in Congress after those bombings," Ashman said. "What will follow now?"

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who supported the law, said from Washington Monday, "It's important to note the difference between doing something about the several million undocumented immigrants who are working, paying taxes and raising families here, and stopping illegal immigrants."

Reid said he supports legislation to give the Immigration and Naturalization Service more funds for its enforcement duties at the borders, and dividing the agency into two to have enforcement and services handled by separate agencies.

HR 1562, the Immigration Restructuring and Accountability Act, proposes this split. It is currently in the House immigration subcommittee.

Ashman said a filing deadline extension for applications under the law known as 245-I was passed by the Senate a week before the terrorist attacks and was set to be debated in the House. The law allows immigrants who qualify for green card work permits to remain in the United States while their applications are pending, instead of having to leave the country during the two or three years that the process often takes.

"Will President Bush sign this legislation after what's happened?" Ashman said. "For that matter, are the recent initiatives between Mexico President Fox and the White House, or other immigration reforms, in jeopardy?"

Valera said that Fox's message urging Congress to move on legalizing undocumented immigrants and changing temporary worker visas before the end of the year, delivered in Washington only a week before the terrorist attacks, is now impossible.

"If we are now at war, any legislation that appears to leave our borders open would be political suicide for any member of Congress to support," Valera said.

Some of Ashman's colleagues suggested legislation that could be timely, including granting citizenship to illegal immigrants who serve in the military. Currently, foreigners who serve in the American armed forces during hostilities have this right.

In a phone interview from Washington, association Legislative Director Judy Golub also said she was concerned about congressional reaction.

"Congress needs to focus now on improving intelligence gathering and developing appropriate military strategy, and not on immigrants," Golub said.

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