PAGE
Civil rights advocates have already expressed concern over the Department of Justice�s revamping of Post-9/11 immigration law, and many are anxious that more breaches of liberties are to come.
�The bush administration is more concerned with security than civil freedoms,� said Drew Elesh, a Chicago-based immigration lawyer.
Elesh points to the enactment of the Patriot Act in October 2001 and the still-pending Homeland Security Bill as examples of the types of legislation immigrants can expect in the future. Both bills are aimed at tightening up the United States� borders and go so far as to single out certain nationalities for heightened surveillance.
�It�s a tool that the government has in its toolbox to deport people without the normal checks and balances,� Elesh said.
Here in Skokie, a town with a rich and storied immigrant history, diversity is the norm and immigration policy directly affects a good portion of the community. Many residents have either personal stories or tales of loved ones or friends whose immigration status has been in a state of flux since 9/11.
Petr Kobel, a Russian immigrant, says that he knows of at least two comrades who live in Skokie with green cards who have had to report to the INS four times in the past year and have had to hire lawyers to keep up with all the policy changes.
�I worry for them, that they will have complications becoming American citizens,� he said. �They are good, hard-working people who love this country and should not be a target of the government.�
One person who is particularly concerned with the Bush Administration�s policy monopoly is District 9 Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Schakowsky, one of Congress� foremost immigrant rights supporters, voted against the Patriot Act and established a Homeland Security provision creating an ombudsman position between the INS and all immigrants it interacts with. She has repeatedly voiced concern that the new policies do little to deter terrorists from breaching the country�s borders while singling out immigrants with legitimate legalization claims.
�Since 911 immigrants have repeatedly been used as scapegoats,� said Ann Limjoco, Schakowsky�s Chicago office Northwest Side Representative.
�The Bush Administration has proceeded to deport hundreds of immigrants while many lawmakers have attempted to place impractical barriers in the paths of immigrants and refugees trying to come to the US. The government needs to come up with some sort of balance to allow the immigrants to come into the country while keeping the terrorists out.�
For its part, the INS defends its position as the country�s gatekeepers for terrorist activity. Marilu Cabrera, spokesperson for the Chicago District of the INS, says that she is not worried the GOP dominated government will create a climate of potential persecution for future immigrants and refugees.
�In general I don�t think there will be anything new that affects immigrants more than it did before,� Cabrera said.
�We will continue to have what�s called a community-based organization meeting each month. We try to work with Chicago-based community organizations because they�re our conduit to the immigrant community.�