August 17, 1999

SUPPORT THE "FIX 96" CAMPAIGN

In 1996 Congress passed three separate laws dealing with welfare, anti-terrorism, and immigration, which together had a more detrimental effect on immigrants than any law passed in the previous 70 years. Numerous lobbying efforts successfully reinstated many benefits that were denied by the 1996 laws, including food stamps and SSI. However, there is still a pressing need for further immigration law reform. Among other problems, the current laws place severe restrictions on the due process rights of immigrants (see attached Washington Post article).

In conjunction with the third anniversary of the passage of the immigration bill, immigration advocates have launched a Fix '96 campaign. Fix '96: Restore America's Tradition as a Nation of Immigrants and a Nation of Just Laws was created to focus the attention of legislators and the public at large on the destructive aspects of the '96 laws and to urge a return to constitutional principles that preserve the rights of immigrants. No single bill can restore all of the rights revoked by the '96 laws. Multiple pieces of legislation are needed to accomplish these goals. Heightened public awareness of conditions for U.S. immigrants' whose civil liberties have been denied is an essential first step.