It seems the bill will be presented in the senate floor for voting next week.I got this inforamation from aila.org
http://www.aila.org/contentViewer.aspx?bc=10,3080,5940,9158
Take Action: Weigh In On The Fight Against The (Un)REAL ID Act
Cite as "Posted on AILA InfoNet at Doc. No. 05040670 (Apr. 6, 2005) ."
We need your help during this critical time in our uphill battle to defeat the (Un)REAL ID Act! The House of Representatives already included this ill-conceived bill in their emergency supplemental appropriations bill to fund relief for Tsunami victims and troops in Iraq.
The Senate is set to take up the issue this week, with a floor vote on the supplemental scheduled for April 11 or 12. Even if we succeed in keeping the Senate version of the supplemental clean, the (Un)REAL ID WILL BE CONSIDERED during "conference" negotiations between the House and Senate to resolve differences between their respective bills. You must weigh in on your Senators and Representatives now - contact them again even if you already have done so! - urging them to "SAY NO" to this measure.
TIMELINE:
Senate Appropriations Committee -- April 6: The Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the supplemental on Wednesday, April 6. While it appears the committee will not add the REAL ID to the bill at this time, Senate appropriators will be part of the conference discussion and will have a direct say in whether or not REAL ID is ultimately derailed.
Senate Floor Vote -- April 11/12: A Senate floor vote on the supplemental is expected to take place on April 11 or 12. We need to make sure that your Senators hear from you and know why you oppose this measure. While there may or may not be an attempt to add REAL ID to the supplemental during the floor debate, we have been told that Senator Kyl (R-AZ) intends to introduce a free-standing REAL ID bill.
Conference Committee: While a date has not yet been set, the House and Senate must meet to resolve differences between the bills passed by each chamber. House conferees are expected to advocate fiercely for inclusion of REAL ID in the final bill. We need Senate conferees to hold the line, with help from Representatives who oppose this bad legislation.
WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? TAKE ACTION NOW AND REPEATEDLY UNTIL A DECISION IS MADE IN THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE! You need to be fierce advocates starting now and until a decision is made in the conference committee.
Contact your Representative and Senators
Contact the White House
PICK UP THE PHONE: Because nothing takes the place of a call, we urge you to phone your Senators' and Representatives DC offices to register your deep opposition to REAL ID. The Congressional Switchboard number is 202-224-3121. Just dial this number and ask the operator to speak with your Senators and Representative. An easy way to find out who your Members of Congress are, if you don't know who they are, go to Contact Congress on InfoNet and input your zip code. It's easy.
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BACKGROUND: This bill will have REAL consequences for your current and future clients. Understand how this bill will affect REAL people
Read a section-by-section analysis of the bill
This bill proposes the following dramatic policy changes without any hearing or debate:
(1) Asylum: The REAL ID Act will deny refuge to those fleeing persecution by heightening the eligibility standards and evidentiary burdens governing asylum applications.
(2) Removal: The REAL ID Act will make noncitizens including long-time LPRs deportable for lawful speech or associations that occurred far in the past.
(3) Judicial Review: The REAL ID Act will broadly expand the restrictions on judicial review imposed by the 1996 laws. It also will eliminate the power of a federal court to temporarily stay a removal order while an appeal of that order is pending before the court. This means asylum seekers could be sent back to their persecutors before a final decision has been reached in their case!
(4) Driver’s Licenses: The REAL ID Act will link immigration status to driver's license eligibility and will deny driver's licenses to whole categories of noncitizens, thereby undermining the safety of our roads and the law enforcement utility of DMV databases.
(5) Bail Bondsmen: The REAL ID Act will subject noncitizens to bounty hunters who are provided unprecedented authority to "pursue, apprehend, detain and turn over" immigrants in removal proceedings.
(6) The Fence: The REAL ID Act will authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive all federal, state, and local laws the Secretary deems necessary, in his sole and absolute discretion, to expedite construction of security fences and barriers at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders.
MESSAGES:
(1) None of the provisions in this bill have been subject to hearings or meaningful debate. It is grossly irresponsible for Congress to enact legislation that could have life or death consequences under such circumstances.
(2) These provisions will do nothing to make us safer and, in the long run, will undermine our security by diverting precious resources and alienating immigrant populations here and our allies abroad. None of these measures would have prevented or impeded the 9/11 attacks.
(3) What would REAL ID really do? It would:
encourage the denial of asylum to Christians fleeing persecution, battered immigrant women, and others who cannot meet the harsh evidentiary and credibility requirements;
deny asylum to a Soviet Jew who was beaten and robbed by police, if he can’t prove that prejudice was his persecutors' primary motive;
permit the deportation of a legal permanent resident who donates online relief to a Tsunami relief fund that is a subsidiary of an organization in a Tamil Tiger-controlled region of Sri Lanka;
deny driver's licenses to a U.S. national from Samoa and to a trafficking victim seeking non-immigrant status;
deny a Guatemalan asylum seeker the right to remain in the U.S. until her case is finally decided, sending her back to her persecutors; and
permit construction companies to violate wage and hour, hiring, and occupational safety laws when they work on the border fence.
