US immigration laws

Following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, the US has reformed its immigration procedures to keep foreign terrorists out of the country. Sarah Left explains

Why are United States immigration laws in the news?

Civil libertarians have argued the new measures - part of the hastily-passed USA Patriot Act - are unnecessarily draconian.

What is the USA Patriot Act?

The act, signed into law by Mr Bush on October 25, is a massive piece of legislation covering everything from domestic security to surveillance procedures to money laundering. Immigration is only a small part of its measures, which are mostly focussed on collecting data about possible terrorist attacks.

The point of all this is to both keep terrorists out the US and to detain those already in the country. As the attorney general, John Ashcroft, put it: "Let the terrorists among us be warned: If you overstay your visa - even by one day - we will arrest you. If you violate a local law, you will be put in jail and kept in custody as long as possible. We will use every available statute. We will seek every prosecutorial advantage."

What is the problem with that?

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues that the act gives "enormous, unwarranted power" to the president that would unchecked by the courts. They are concerned that the laws will undermine civil freedoms for both citizens and legal aliens and will result in innocent foreigners being barred or deported from the US.

The ACLU is worried that the attorney general could classify as terrorist any group that has ever engaged in violent activity, whether it is Greenpeace or al-Qaida.

What does the immigration part of the law say?

It allows the attorney general to create a blacklist of organisations for their involvement in terrorism and allows the US to deport or bar entry to anyone connected with those groups. The list can be expanded at any time.

The ACLU argues that the provision would allow immigration officials to bar someone who has contributed money to, say, Greenpeace from entering the country, since the list of proscribed organisations is in the sole control of the justice department.

Why did they tighten the immigration laws?

US authorities say that the 19 men who hijacked the planes on September 11 had entered the country on student, business and tourist visas obtained at US consulates overseas. They then simply disappeared into the US. The Bush administration now wants to keep track of all foreigners in the country.

Who is banned?

Mr Ashcroft has drawn up a list of 74 terrorist organisations whose supporters are not allowed to visit the United States. Those include al-Qaida, the Palestinian Hizbollah and the al Rasheed Trust, as well as groups from Northern Ireland, such as the Loyalist Volunteer Force.

Legitimate refugees have not been able to enter the US since September 11, either. Up to 20,000 refugees who had already been cleared for a move to America have been told that their plans will have to be delayed indefinitely.

I'm planning to travel the US and need a visa. How will this affect me?

It could mean that you need to fill out an additional form, giving immigration officials more details about yourself and your past travels than previously required.

Michael Becraft, the acting deputy commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has talked about enacting a computerised system to keep track of everyone entering the US on a student visa. At the moment, there is no central tracking of those who enter the US on student visas.