US Congress Must Repeal Decades-Old Harmful Immigration Laws

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) should be repealed by the US Congress, according to Human Rights Watch.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Congress should repeal a pair of laws that have subjected immigrants to arbitrary detention and expedited deportations over the last 20 years, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Monday.

"The US appears to be coming to grips with the harm caused by its 90s-era crime laws," said Alison Parker, co-director of HRW’s US program. "These 90s-era immigration laws also deserve serious scrutiny and reconsideration."

The laws in question are the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), both signed in 1996 by then-US President Bill Clinton.

Human Rights Watch noted that both laws have subjected even long-term US residents to detention and removal for a wide range of criminal offenses and removed legal defenses against deportation.

The rights group explained that the IIRIRA also made it more difficult for people fleeing persecution to apply for political asylum in the United States, which effectively denies asylum-seekers rights granted by both US and international law.

The US Congressional Progressive Caucus is expected to propose a resolution on April 26 that will symbolically recognize some of the harm Human Rights Watch has documented and propose limited reform measures.