A.
United States Leadership in Protecting Refugees
B. The Road to Expedited Removal
C. How Expedited Removal Works
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Is this America? A.
United States Leadership in Protecting Refugees
B. The Road to Expedited Removal C. How Expedited Removal Works A. How Many People are Affected? III. An Inherently Unfair Process Appendices Appendix
1: Appendix
2: Appendix
3: Appendix
4: Appendix
5: Appendix
6: Copies of this report are available
from:
Is this America?
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IV.
Conclusion "One
of the great traditions of this country is that we have been a beacon
of hope, and of light, as Ronald Reagan would say.
We have been a country where people could come to when they
were persecuted. If
you look at our history and our immigration policy, our best days-our
best days-have been when we reached out and said, 'Yes.
We are this country that is different.'
The few times in our history when we have turned our back
on people who are persecuted . we have lived to regret it."
Senator
Mike DeWine (R-OH), May 1, 1996 When Congress enacted expedited removal in 1996, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who led the fight against expedited removal said, "Our country is a beacon of hope and freedom, let it not be extinguished. Let us not abandon our leadership role in international human rights. Let us not abandon the world's true refugees, let us not restrict the due process that protects the people who look to us for asylum." As Senator Leahy and Senator DeWine warned during the floor debate, the use of expedited removal has led to the wrongful turning away of refugees seeking asylum in the United States-in violation of fundamental principles of international law. It has also resulted in the abusive treatment of many other refugees who were lucky enough eventually to obtain asylum as well as men and women engaged in business, tourists and even U.S. citizens. The use of expedited removal diminishes all Americans and tarnishes America's human rights leadership. Congress must act to protect the vision of Washington and Jefferson and restore the 200-year old American tradition of providing refuge to the persecuted. We must ensure fair procedures and humane treatment of asylum seekers who often come from very different cultures and have endured unspeakable suffering. At a minimum Congress should act to limit expedited removal to immigration emergencies and restore procedural safeguards to ensure fair consideration of asylum claims. The INS should open access to secondary inspection to allow regular monitoring by outside observers and drastically improve the conduct of secondary inspection.
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