Urge Lautenberg and Menendez to Stand Up for the Constitution!

The Senate may vote this week to officially allow indefinite detention without charges, “legalizing” a Bush-era practice that violates both the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law! Amnesty International is also concerned that the Senate may approve revisions to the Military Commission Act this week instead of overturning it. Amnesty has consistently argued that the US federal court system is the correct place to try those accused of terrorism and make sure that justice is done.

Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202- 224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and urge them to:
Overturn rather than rework the Bush-era Military Commissions. The U.S. federal court system is the correct place to find justice.
Oppose any efforts to legalize indefinite detention, an egregious violation of the right to due process.

Call Congress to Support Immigrant Detention Reform!

This week, activists across the United States are meeting with their local congressional offices to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act. Even if you aren’t taking part in a meeting, you can still help out by calling your Congressman’s Washington, DC office and urging him to support this important legislation to:

1. Imprison accused illegal aliens only when he or she is shown to be a flight risk or a danger to the community. By relying on effective alternative procedures, we can humanely assure that the accused show up for their hearings while reducing costs and strain on the overburdened prison system.
2. Ensure that each and every person who is detained has the opportunity to challenge the grounds of his or her detention. This is necessary because legal residents and even U.S. citizens have had to spend months in prison while waiting for their deportation hearings.
3. Create enforceable standards of humane treatment for those who are detained, whether in federal, state, local, or private facilities.

NJ Congressmen Rush Holt, Donald Payne, and Steve Rothman have already agreed to cosponsor this important bill! If you live in one of their districts, please call to say “thank you.”

If you live in another district, please call your Congressman and urge him to support HR 1215.

You can find out the name and contact for your representative by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Rothman Supports Immigrant Detention Reform

Congressman Steve Rothman's office has informed me that he has agreed to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act!

As you may know, Amensty activists around the country are currently organizing a lobby week in support of this legislation, which address the three main problems identified in Amnesty's Jailed Without Justice report.

House votes to establish Office for Global Women’s Issues

Last night, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would implement an important component of the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) by creating a new permanent position on women’s issues in the State Department. Nine of New Jersey’s thirteen representatives voted in favor, and the remaining four voted against.

The next step is to get this legislation passed in the Senate. There will then be a conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions, followed by another round of voting in each chamber. We also need to continue pushing for passage of IVAWA in both chambers.

In favor of the creation of the Office for Global Women's Issues at the Department of State to help coordinate efforts to fight violence against women:

Robert E. Andrews ( D - NJ - 01 )
John Adler ( D - NJ - 03 )
Frank Pallone ( D - NJ - 06 )
Leonard Lance ( R - NJ - 07 )
Bill Pascrell ( D - NJ - 08 )
Steve Rothman ( D - NJ - 09 )
Donald Payne ( D - NJ - 10 )
Rush D. Holt ( D - NJ - 12 )
Albio Sires ( D - NJ - 13 )

Against:

Frank LoBiondo ( R - NJ - 02 )
Christopher H. Smith ( R - NJ - 04 )
Scott Garrett ( R - NJ - 05 )
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen ( R - NJ - 11 )

Urge Congress to Reform Immigrant Detention!

One of our nation’s greatest strengths is the wide diversity of its population, built on the arrival of immigrants of all social classes from every part of the globe. Those of us living in New Jersey can be especially proud of the wide array of cultures that have contributed to the development of our communities.

Unfortunately, this asset is undermined by a judicial system that places of the burden of proof on those accused of being illegal immigrants rather than on those accusing them. As Amnesty’s Jailed Without Justice report documents, legal residents and even U.S. citizens can be arrested and jailed on charges of immigration violations WITHOUT having the opportunity to go before a court and say, “on what grounds am I being held?” Furthermore, those arrested are almost always subject to mandatory detention, regardless of factors such as flight risk or danger to the community. This winds up costing taxpayers $95 per detainee per day! Since 1996, the number of individuals in immigrant detention has tripled! This problem is compounded by the inhumane treatment that many detainees receive, such as being housed with violent offenders and denied adequate medical care.

Congressmen Rush Holt and Donald Payne are already cosponsors of the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act (HR 1215), a bill that would correct this horrible situation. Please help convince the rest of our state’s representatives and our senators to join them. Activists across the country will be meeting their elected officials’ offices on this issue during the week of June 29th to July 5th. You can volunteer to organize a meeting or look for an existing meeting to join at http://www.amnestyusa.org/immigrant-detention/join-a-delegation/page.do?id=1011618.

Payne Becomes 2nd NJ Rep to Cosponsor Immigrant Detention Reform

Earlier this week, Congressman Donald Payne joined fellow NJ Representative Rush Holt in supporting HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act. This important legislation addresses the problems identified in Amnesty’s recent report, Jailed Without Justice.

As you know, the state of New Jersey is home to many immigrants and there families. All members of our congressional delegation should therefore join Holt and Payne in supporting legislation that will guarantee due process, ensure that detention is used only when necessary, and improve inhumane prison conditions!

Report from DC Lobbying!

Last weekend was the annual meeting for Legislative Coordinators at AI’s DC office. On Monday, I met with staff members from the offices of
· Rep. Chris Smith
· Rep. Rush Holt
· Rep. Albio Sires
· Rep. Leonard Lance
· Rep. Steve Rothman
· Rep. Bill Pascrell
· Rep. Donald Payne
· Sen. Frank Lautenberg
· Sen. Robert Menendez

One of the main issues I raised was the horrible state of immigrant detention documented in Amnesty’s Jailed without Justice report. We asked House members to support HR 1215, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act to:
· Ensure that detainees can challenge the grounds for their detention (They may be legal residents or even citizens, for example.)
· Consider alternatives to detention before sending accused illegal immigrants to prison.
· Create enforceable standards to ensure the humane treatment of detainees, regardless of whether they are in federal, state, or local facilities.

I am happy to report that Congressman Holt had already cosponsored this important piece of legislation! Amnesty hopes that similar legislation will soon be introduced in the Senate.

I also followed up on the national in-district lobbying campaign to establish accountability on torture. I urged members of both chambers to:
· Support and independent commission to investigate the policies that led to torture and produce recommendations to prevent it from happening again.
· Call upon Attorney General Eric Holder to launch criminal investigations of torture and prosecutions and where there is sufficient evidence.
· Write to the President calling for an end to the abuse of “state secrets” arguments to refuse Freedom of Information requests. (We are particularly interested in the CIA Inspector General’s 2004 Report.)

Naturally, it would be great if you could follow up with a call to your Congressman, as well as Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez!