I've posted this in other forums

[Finding Rawls]

I hope that no one is bothered by this because I'd like for as many people to get a look at this as possible. There's a bill that's going to be up in the House pretty soon. Real ID (HR 418) is going to hit the floor as early as next Thursday (it's being introduced by Sensenbrenner (R-WI)).

The bill will dramatically affect asylum seekers coming to the United States. Now, I must disclose, that the bill has some provisions regarding immigration in general (No drivers license, easing environmental/construction laws in order to construct a wall along San Diego border) that some Democrats may be in favor of for economic reasons or national security reasons. If this does apply to you, I understand that you won't join me. I wish you could help but everyone has their own concerns.

For those of you who haven't given up on the plea yet, I'll give you a brief description of how the bill will affect asylum seekers.

1. Asylum seekers would have to prove that they have a well-founded fear of persecution based on ONE and only one of the five grounds (race, religion, political opinion, nationality, social group), which would raise the standard in way that is problematic for mixed motive cases.
Some of you may not see such a big deal in this, but many times asylum seekers are persecuted for more than one of those reasons. It's a rather senseless change to asylum law.

2. Adjudicators would be given more discretion to doubt credibility, including weighing inconsistent statements and demeanor (e.g., lack of eye contact, flat affect, etc.).
I'm stunned that this would be written into law. Asylum seekers many times are fearing for their lives. While they wait to have their case heard they are held in a federal detention center or a local county jail. Their fate is in the balance and they are talking about denying asylum claims on the basis of actions that will in general be present.

3. The bill would also allow denials for someone whose testimony is credible but who doesn't have supporting documentation; thereby eliminating the current standard of only asking for more documentation if it's reasonable to do so.
Many of these people come to the country with little or nothing in their possession. When fleeing a country, many asylum seekers don't have a neat folder with all of their personal information.

4.Bars review by federal court.
The Executive Office of Immigration Review is not a proper court. It is an administrative court. The Judges directly work for the Attorney General. You can imagine how this AG is going to deal with asylum seekers. (maybe they have information. Let's stick this prod up their ass before we send them back to whereever they came form). The Federal Courts many times protect those limited rights that non-citizens do have in this country.

I apologize for the length of the post. I work with Asylum seekers and can honestly say that you will rarely, if ever, meet people who have faced the problems they have and overcome them.

I urge you to help out. Thank You

To find your congressman and his/her contact information, go to http://www.house.gov/Welcome.shtml and enter your zip code in at the top of the page, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202/22-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative's office (if you don't know your representative's name, tell the operator your ZIP code).

Also, consider letting President Bush know you oppose the bill by leaving a message on the White House comment line at 202/456-1111, and consider contacting your Senators at www.senate.gov or using the Switchboard number above.