Speech #CREC-2017-06-29-pt1-PgH5333_t51

Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative: We write to urge you to oppose H.R. 3004 (``Kate's Law'') and any similar legislation that would have severely negative consequences for asylum seekers and refugees fleeing persecution. H.R. 3004 seeks to expand the scope of immigrants who may be prosecuted for unlawful reentry and further expands penalties for those who are convicted. But the criminal prosecution of asylum seekers for offenses such as illegal entry, illegal reentry, and document fraud violates U.S. treaty obligations and risks sending genuine refugees back to their countries of persecution. For one, many asylum seekers are forced to ``reenter'' the United States because they were wrongfully deported in the first place through the expedited removal system. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), as well as Human Rights First and other groups, has long documented deficiencies and flaws in the implementation of the expedited removal process, a summary process which gives immigration officers the authority to order non-citizens deported without a hearing. In its 2005 report on expedited removal, USCIRF found that in a significant number of cases, border agents failed to follow U.S. law and refer asylum seekers to the ``credible fear'' process, even when USCIRF researchers were present during the secondary inspection process. Even when border agents make the proper referral for a credible fear screening, asylum seekers are often traumatized and exhausted by their experiences in their home countries, their flight to the United States, and their arrest by U.S. authorities. They are often interviewed by telephone by an officer they cannot see and are at the mercy of interpretation problems and other arbitrary factors that hinder communication. As a result, some may incorrectly be found to not have a credible fear, and may be deported as a result. These asylum seekers must then ``reenter'' the United States after facing continuing persecution in their home countries to seek protection yet again. Moreover, H.R. 3004 would redefine ``reentry'' to encompass an even broader group of individuals, as it will define reentry as including cases of individuals who had been previously denied admission. Human Rights First release a report in May 2017, titled Crossing the Line, which documents cases of asylum seekers who have been turned back at U.S. ports of entry, despite stating to border agents that they had a fear of persecution or intended to seek asylum. While DHS officials have acknowledged that border agents should be following U.S. law and referring asylum seekers to the asylum process, Human Rights First and other groups have found that this practice continues. H.R. 3004 seeks to penalize an overly broad group of individuals that would even include those who were wrongfully turned away from our ports of entry in violation of U.S. law. Secondly, prosecuting asylum seekers for their illegal entry or presence--even in the case of ``reentry''--is a violation of U.S. treaty obligations under the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Article 31 of the Refugee Convention requires that states refrain from imposing ``penalties'' on refugees on account of their illegal entry or presence in the country where they are seeking asylum. For this reason, in 2015, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that prosecutions under ``Operation Streamline'' may place the United States in violation of its treaty obligations. If Congress passes H.R. 3004, more asylum seekers like Maria will be subjected to wrongful criminal prosecutions. ``Maria,'' a transgender woman from Honduras, who had been raped and subjected to other sexual violence, fled to the United States in 2014. U.S. immigration officials failed to respond to her requests for asylum and she was deported back to Honduras through expedited removal without ever seeing an immigration judge or having her fear of persecution assessed by an asylum officer. Facing ongoing persecution in Honduras, she fled to the United States again in 2015, and was apprehended upon entry. U.S. border agents referred her for criminal prosecution and she was convicted of illegal reentry. After she was transferred back to immigration custody, she was determined to be a ``refugee'' who qualified for withholding of removal. Yet, the United States had already penalized her for ``illegal entry'' despite being a refugee. Please contact Olga Byrne at Human Rights First if you have any questions regarding this letter. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Eleanor Acer, Senior Director, Refugee Protection.