Speech #CREC-2017-09-13-pt1-PgH7325_t26

Re vote ``no'' on H.R. 3697, the ``Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act''. Dear Representative: On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and our nearly two million members and supporters, we urge members of the House to oppose H.R. 3697 which is expected to be brought up for a floor vote as early as Thursday, September 14. The American Civil Liberties Union recommends a NO vote on this bill because it will promote widespread racial profiling, violate First Amendment protections, expand mandatory detention of immigrants, raise serious constitutional questions on judicial review of government designations of certain groups, and bar humanitarian relief for individuals in violation of international treaties. H.R. 3697 will promote widespread racial profiling, risking violation of individuals' Fifth Amendment equal protection rights. H.R. 3697 will empower the immigration authorities to conduct dragnet sweeps of Latino communities and other communities of color. Media reports make clear that law enforcement has recently relied on questionable and unreliable evidence to assert that Latino individuals are gang members, including wearing certain kinds of clothes or doodling an area code from a Latin American country on a school notebook. Officers have alleged gang membership sometimes based on merely being seen with people who are alleged gang members or living in neighborhoods known to suffer gang activity. This bill gives DHS the latitude to arrest, detain, and deport noncitizens including long-time green card holders for the ``crime'' of living in an immigrant neighborhood or showing pride in their countries of origin. Gang databases information-sharing arrangements between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities are flawed, inaccurate, encourage biased policing, and have been repeatedly shown to be unreliable. Gang databases have extremely low thresholds for inclusion: simply living in a neighborhood where there are gang members or talking to people who are gang members often results in a young person being placed in a gang database. An audit of California's gang database CalGangs found that law enforcement could not substantiate a significant proportion of their entries into the gang database. Reliance on gang databases will only further encourage racial profiling of young men of color living in poor neighborhoods. H.R. 3697 seeks to deport immigrants based on a mere ``reason to believe'' that they have been involved in gang activities. This overly broad designation could sweep up individuals who have not engaged in criminal activity. Indeed, in many cases, H.R. 3697 could make immigrants deportable for activities protected by the First Amendment. H.R. 3697 subjects an individual to deportation if the Secretary of Homeland Security or Attorney General ``knows or has reason to believe'' that an individual is a gang member. A person is also subject to deportation, if, the individual has ``participated in the activities'' of the ``gang'' knowing or having reason to know that their activities will ``promote, further, aid or support'' the illegal activity. This expansive language could sweep up people who have committed no criminal activity whatsoever. Even worse, H.R. 3697 risks making people deportable for activities that are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. ``Reason to believe'' is an exceedingly low standard of proof that will subject people to deportation based on mere probable cause of gang involvement. This is especially troubling given the lack of strict rules of evidence in immigration court, where individuals may be deemed gang members based on hearsay. H.R. 3697 includes no exception for offenses committed as a juvenile. However, the Supreme Court has recognized the broad legal consensus that juveniles should be held to different standards of culpability.