USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001
On October 26, 2001, President Bush signed into law the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act. Below are highlights of the act, concentrating on provisions pertaining specifically
to immigrants, information on immigrants' rights and what your clients can do if questioned by government agents. All of this information
has been provided by the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA).
THE USA PATRIOT ACT EXPANDS DEFINITIONS OF 'TERRORISM':
- The U.S. Secretary of State (currently Colin L. Powell) now has the power to designate any group, foreign or domestic, as a terrorist
organization. The authority is not subject to review.
- It is a deportable offense to raise funds, solicit membership, or provide material support for groups designated as terrorist organizations
by the Secretary of State. This holds true even when the material support is provided for humanitarian projects administered by the organization
and regardless of whether actual terrorist activities occurred.
- It is a deportable offense to provide material support or solicit funds for groups that are not officially designated as terrorist organizations
by the Secretary of State, but that go on to commit acts of terrorism. Unless the accused can prove that they "did not know, and should not
reasonably have known, that the solicitation would further the organization's terrorist activity."
- Individuals who provided support to humanitarian projects of an organization before it was designated as a terrorist group by the
Secretary of State have some protections.
THE USA PATRIOT ACT EXPANDS POWERS TO DETAIN NON-CITIZENS:
- The Attorney General (currently John Ashcroft) or Deputy Attorney General (currently Larry D. Thompson) has the power to certify non-citizens as
terrorists if he has "reasonable grounds to believe" that they are terrorists or have committed a terrorist activity. Individuals who are certified
as terrorists by the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General must be detained.
- The INS is now allowed to detain non-citizens for 7 days before bringing immigration or criminal charges against them. (The INS' power previously
had been limited to 24 hours, then expanded to 48 hours immediately after September 11. This law now extends the limit to 7 days.). This does not
mean individuals must be released within 7 days; it merely means charges must be brought against them within 7 days. After that, it is possible
for them to be held for a very long time before being tried.
- Individuals have the right to challenge their detention and their certification as terrorists before a judge.
- If individuals are ordered deported but cannot be deported for some reason, the Attorney General must review their cases every 6 months. Continued
detention is allowed only after the Attorney General shows that "the release of the alien will endanger the national security of the United States or
the safety of the community or any person."
- The Attorney General must review the certification as a terrorist of any person every 6 months. If it is determined that the certification should
be revoked, the person may be released. Certified individuals may request a reconsideration of their certification every 6 months and submit documents
or evidence to support that request.
PRESERVATION OF IMMIGRATION BENEFITS FOR VICTIMS OF SEPT. 11:
- Humanitarian relief and other immigration protections are available for the spouses and children of victims of September 11.
- Special immigration status will be granted to individuals whose family or employment-based immigrant petition, fiancé visa, or application for
labor certification was revoked or terminated due to the death, disability, or loss of employment (due to the physical damage or destruction of the
business) of the petitioner, applicant, or beneficiary as a direct result of the terrorist attacks.
- Special immigration status is also available to the spouses and children who were either accompanying the principle applicant, or who are following
to join the principle applicant up to two years later (September 2003).
- The grandparents of any child whose parents died in the attacks may also qualify for this status if either of the parents was a U.S. citizen or
legal permanent resident (LPR).
- In determining eligibility for an immigrant visa, the public charge grounds of inadmissibility are not applicable to these special immigration status cases.
- Deadlines for filing applications, leaving the U.S., and entering the U.S. have been extended for those directly affected by September 11.
OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO IMMIGRATION:
- The INS and State Department now have access to FBI criminal history records for the purpose of making decisions regarding visa issuance and entry.
The above are highlights of the law based on information provided by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the National Immigration Forum, and the National Lawyers Guild to MIRA.
For a section-by-section summary of the USA PATRIOT Act by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, visit www.aila.org/newsroom/response.html.
The actual text of the immigration provisions of the law can be found on the INS website at www.ins.gov/graphics/lawsregs/patriot.pdf.
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