Civil Liberties Restoration Act 2004; its about time!

CIVIL LIBERTIES
Civil Liberties Restoration Act 2004
Center for American Progress
6/17/04

Yesterday, members of the House and Senate introduced legislation that would roll back some of the Bush administration's "most egregious and ineffectual post-9/11 policies," including "arbitrary and indefinite detentions, secret hearings, severe restrictions on due process, and violations of privacy and First Amendment rights." The bill, called the Civil Liberties Restoration Act (CLRA), reflects a consensus among security experts that many of the administration's post-9/11 policies, including elements of the Patriot Act and immigration policy, have undermined national security and eroded civil liberties. A coalition of human rights, civil rights and civil liberties groups is urging Congress to pass it immediately. Read American Progress CEO John Podesta's statement on the bill.

CLRA WOULD FOCUS RESOURCES: The CLRA would sharpen post 9/11 Bush administration policies by making them more focused and effective. A few of CLRA's proposals: require criminal databases relied upon daily by state and local law enforcement to comply with accuracy requirements; establish an independent immigration court to promote fair hearings by a competent, impartial tribunal; mandate public reports on data-mining to Congress, to ensure accurate information is collected and used. Such measures would "increase the government's access to information that may be critical to preventing future terrorist attacks," and aid in the effective appropriation of counterterrorism funds. The CLRA was sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Corzine (D-NJ), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), as well as Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA) and William Delahunt (D-MA).

CLRA WOULD END INEFFECTIVE INITIATIVES: In staff statement #10, the 9/11 commission analyzed four "immigration-related programs" intended by Attorney General John Ashcroft to disrupt terrorist activities after 9/11. The analysis suggests government programs not only violated civil liberties, but wasted precious counterterrorism resources. One example was Ashcroft's designation of "special interest" aliens, which mandated individuals with immigration violations be "held until they were 'cleared' of terrorist connections by the FBI and other agencies" in hearings closed to the public and the press. "The 'clearance' process approved by the Justice Department was involved and time consuming, lasting on average 80 days." Ashcroft's other initiatives were also judged time-consuming and ineffective?-none of them uncovered any terrorists. By focusing efforts and reducing redundancies, CLRA would more "effectively utilize the resources appropriated for counterterrorism efforts," while still protecting Americans' civil liberties.

AMERICANS REJECT PATRIOT ACT: President Bush has campaigned to extend the Patriot Act, but the American people have grown increasingly wary. A Thomson Wadsworth Criminal Justice Survey shows 95 percent of Americans "feel that the Patriot Act was passed too quickly, without considerable thought on how it may impact existing laws or public policy." And "in the past two years, more than 300 cities and four states have passed resolutions calling on Congress to repeal or change parts" of the Act. "The municipal resolutions…affirm, for the most part, that city employees aiding federal authorities in national security investigations will not violate the rights of people under investigation, such as monitoring political and religious gatherings where people are engaging in activities protected by the First Amendment."