February 22, 2005

CHICAGO – Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) opposed H.R. 418, the REAL ID Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives approved Feb. 10 with a 261-161 vote and the U.S. Senate referred Feb. 17 to its Committee on the Judiciary for consideration. According to the bill's sponsor, U.S. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis. 5th), the proposal would regulate security standards for states issuing drivers' licenses, prevent terrorists from abusing asylum laws and ensure construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"H.R. 418 will do nothing to secure America against terrorism," said LIRS President Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr. "Current law already bars terrorists and others who present a security risk from getting asylum."

"Instead, H.R. 418 would have direct life and death consequences for genuine refugees. The bill places many refugees, including those fleeing religious and political persecution, at risk of being returned to their torturers or to death," Deffenbaugh said.

LIRS resettles refugees, protects unaccompanied refugee children, advocates for fair and just treatment of asylum seekers, and seeks alternatives to detention for those who are incarcerated during their immigration proceedings. It works in partnership with a national network of affiliates, partners, congregations and volunteers.

Based in Baltimore, LIRS is a cooperative agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The proposed legislation would put anyone, especially women and children, fleeing persecution in their home country at a disadvantage, said a Feb. 2 LIRS news release. It could be used against asylum seekers if they fail to discuss their persecution in their first meeting with immigration officials, it said. "It is unrealistic to expect people to share personal details of their abuse to immigration officials when they first arrive in the United States and are still fearful and confused."

The LIRS release listed several concerns that the service has with the proposed legislation: + Section 101 could deny asylum to a refugee if he or she is unable to show documents that prove his or her case, even though he or she has testified credibly in the asylum case. + Section 101 requires a refugee to prove that a "central motive" of the persecutor was race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a particular social group as opposed to personal vengeance, hatred or some other motive. It is unrealistic to require a victim to read the mind of the persecutor. + Section 101 also places emphasis on the refugee's perceived demeanor, ignoring the fact that survivors of rape, forced abortions, or similar abuses may appear lacking in emotion or have difficulty making eye contact. + Sections 103 and 104 allow victims of terrorist or militant groups to be deported or barred from receiving asylum based on overly broad definitions of what constitutes engaging in terrorism. Some people who come to the United States seeking asylum are doing so because they were forced at gunpoint to pay money to a terrorist organization or may have given money to a school or hospital without knowing the ties to a terrorist organization. Under the REAL ID Act, these innocent people would be barred from asylum for the same reason they are seeking it – persecution by terrorists. + Section 202 would undermine the states' efforts to create a driver's license system that assures that all drivers are certified to drive, insured, and carrying valid licenses. This would drive undocumented people further into the shadows and undermine rather than improve security.

The home page for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is at http://www.lirs.org/ on the Web.

ELCA News Service