Currently, four senators are sponsoring or co-sponsoring the Coleman-Leahy amendment to H.R. 4393. Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) are sponsoring the Act, while current co-sponsors are Lisa Murkowsky (R-Alaska) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland).
The amendment is for the Immigration and Nationality Act and reads as follows:
Purpose: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide an exception for refugees who have been forced against their will by terrorist organizations to provide support to such organizations.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES -- 109th Cong., 2nd Sess.
H.R. 4939 Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes.
On page 253, between lines 19 and 20, insert the following:
INELIGIBILTY FOR ADMISSION FOR ALIENS
Sec. 7032. Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)) is amended--
(1) in clause (vi)(III), by striking “which” before “engages in, or has a subgroup” and inserting in lieu thereof “that the Secretary of the State, in consultation with or upon the request of the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security, has certified”; and
(2) by adding at the end, the following new clause:
“(vii) EXCEPTION FOR INVOLUNTARY MATERIAL SUPPORT. -- An individual has not provided material support for the purposes of subclause (VI) of clause (iv) if the individual establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer when applying for a visa (or to the satisfaction of the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security when applying for admission) that such support was involuntary or for purposes of protecting the alien or another person from the use of, or the threat of, unlawful force that a reasonable person in the alien’s situation would not have resisted.”.
This amendment addresses both issues involved here, first, that armed groups are being treated as 'terrorists' even when they have legitimate cause to be fighting repressive regimes - such as the case is with Burma, and second, it exempts refugees who were forced to provide support to armed or designated terrorist organizations, as is happening in Africa and Central America. Furthermore, it puts the onus on the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate armed groups as 'terrorists', rather than the current situation where all groups are deemed terrorists until specifically designated otherwise. Such a change will hopefully have a positive effect on other issues related to the current legislation - such as humanitarian workers being prevented from assisting individuals in areas under the control of armed groups like the Tamil Tigers.
If you're in Portland like me, you can call Senator Gordon Smith, who is typically sympathetic to the Burma issue. Here is the info and a few talking points as provided in the US Campaign for Burma email:
Please call Senator Gordon Smith ((202) 224-3753) immediately, ask for the staff member who handles foreign affairs and/or judicial affairs, and tell them some variation (you can use your own words) of the following vital points:
- I would like to see the Senator join as a co-sponsor of the Coleman-Leahy amendment to H.R. 4393.
- This is a bi-partisan effort to correct a serious flaw in the Immigration and Nationality Act, which has kept legitimate refugees, friends of the United States, from coming to this country.
- The Act is sponsored by Norm Coleman (a Republican from Minnesota) and Patrick Leahy (a Democrat from Vermont), with co-sponsors (so far) being Lisa Murkowski (Republican from Alaska) and Barbara Mikulski (Democrat from Maryland)
- Be sure to ask for them to call you back when the decision is made – the staff member will likely not give you an immediate answer.
- You can also offer to email them some more information including a copy of the amendment, which is pasted [above in this post].
If you are not in Portland, you can still call Senator Smith, or you can find your own senator here, and call or write them asking for support for this amendment.
There are a few other Senators who've previously worked on the Burma issue and who would be sympathetic to this amendement, so calling on them to co-sponsor this amendment may be more productive than contacting senators who may be completely unaware of the issue. However, sending a message to your own Senator about the material support issue and this amendment is still recommended.
Other Senators worth calling are:
- Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA - Phone: (202) 224-3841, Fax: (202) 228-3954
- Senator Mitch McConnel, R-KY - Phone: (202) 224-2541, Fax: (202) 224-2499
- Senator John Kerry, D-MA - Phone: (202) 224-2742, Fax: (202) 224-8525
You can read more about H.R. 4393 and track its progress on this page.
The petition will be left open for signatures, but a link will shortly be forwarded to Senators with a note concerning the amendment.
Previous posts on material support.