MRS > Migration Policy and Public Affair Office > The Immigrant Fairness Restoration Act of 2000
Statement of Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio
Bishop of Camden
Chairman, NCCB Committee on Migration
September 27, 2000
On behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops, I welcome the introduction of the Immigrant Fairness Restoration Act of 2000, which takes a substantial and important step toward restoring basic elements of justice to our immigration laws. Enactment of this comprehensive legislation would restore fairness to our immigration system by strengthening procedural due process protections for immigrants and otherwise correcting many of the egregious and ill effects of the 1996 immigration laws. It would repeal the retroactive nature of the 1996 immigration laws, restore relief from deportation in certain cases, redefine the offenses for which an individual can be deported, and repeal mandatory detention of immigrants.
Congress overreached in 1996 when it enacted three laws: the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA). Congress must act expeditiously to reform these laws and correct the mistakes made in 1996. The Immigrant Fairness Restoration Act of 2000 would help achieve this goal.
We thank Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.) for their introduction of this important legislation and their leadership in this area. We look forward to working with them and others in Congress in the future to achieve these and other reforms to our current immigration laws and system.