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OSPC worked with a large number of civil liberties, human rights and immigration groups to draft the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which was introduced in the Senate (S.2528) in June 2004.
The bill seeks to remedy some of the governmental abuses that occurred in the weeks and months after September 11, 2001. It requires that aliens arrested for alleged violations of the immigration laws be provided with timely notice of the charges against them and afforded an individualized determination of their eligibility for release pending their deportation hearing. It also requires that deportation hearings be open to the public unless the government can show a necessary and compelling reason that they should be closed. It calls for an independent Immigration Review Commission and provides more due process to defendants whose cases involve evidence gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
This bill is likely to be part a debate on civil liberties in the next session of Congress. At that time, the Congress will consider reauthorizing some of the provisions of the Patriot Act.
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