Secret Evidence Amendment Vote Today in Senate

Cornyn Amendment Would Allow Use of Secret Evidence
Washington, DC | June 5, 2007 | Two weeks ago the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) alerted you to a controversial amendment (#1184) introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) during the U.S. Senate‘s debate on immigration. The original vote on this amendment was postponed. Today, Tuesday, June 5, the Senate will vote on the Cornyn amendment.
Cornyn‘s amendment would deny lawful permanent residents the opportunity to become U.S. citizens based on secret evidence. This issue is of vital importance to the Arab-American community. ADC members are urged to immediately phone both their senators asking them to VOTE NO on the Cornyn amendment.
ADC is once again, asking members and supporters to call rather than email their senate offices as early as possible this morning. The US Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
Find out who represents you in the US Senate: http://capwiz.com/adc/dbq/officials/. Keep in mind, everyone has two senators. Be sure to call both offices.
Talking Points:
Cornyn‘s Amendment denies lawful permanent residents the opportunity to become U.S. citizens based on secret evidence:
• This amendment gives the Attorney General unreviewable discretion to use secret evidence to determine if an alien is ‘described in‘ the national security exclusions within immigration law.
• A person applying for naturalization could have her application denied and she would never know the reason for the denial.
• For example, if a lawful permanent resident was giving money for Tsunami relief and accidentally gave money to a charity controlled by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, then that person could be denied citizenship on the basis of secret evidence and there would be no review in the courts.
• In sum, it allows deportations based on the unreviewable determination by executive branch that a person lacks “good moral character”; determinations can be made based on secret evidence that the person cannot even see let alone challenge.
VOTE NO ON THE CORNYN AMENDMENT

Scroll to Top