Like most Iranian Americans, my family immigrated to the United States in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution in Iran, hoping to find safety and acceptance in a country that prides itself on diversity and freedom of expression. We learned and embraced the principles of the Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, due process, and equal protection—protections that apply to every person, citizen and non-citizen alike. But what happened at the U.S. border this past weekend was a painful reminder that sometimes, we are still considered outsiders.

In the state of Washington this weekend, U.S. border authorities summarily detained and interrogated Iranian Americans and lawful permanent residents who were on their way home from Canada. Many were returning from holiday trips to visit family in Vancouver, which is also home to a large Iranian community. Many had gone there for a pop concert. Many were simply on vacation. But that’s not the point. The point is that these people—families, young and old, even small children—were singled out because of their Iranian heritage.

The news is highly disturbing, but it isn’t the first time Iranian Americans have faced discrimination based on political tensions outside of our control. Nor is it the first time border and law enforcement officers have conducted unmerited abuses targeting vulnerable communities. We’ve seen the government abuse the rights of Americans of Somali, Afghan, and Pakistani descent following military action as well. But amid the anti-immigrant, Constitution-flouting policies of the current administration, this news was chilling.

The government has the authority to question travelers to verify identity, citizenship, or legal status, and to conduct reasonable searches for contraband. The government cannot, however, question them about their political views, associations with others, and religious beliefs. That raises serious First Amendment concerns. Everyone has basic constitutional protections at the border and ports of entry—and U.S. citizens and lawful residents cannot be denied entry if they refuse to answer such questions.

This administration continuously espouses anti-immigrant rhetoric and follows up with unconscionable abuses—the Muslim ban, family separation, the inhumane detention of children, and many more. It has upended many immigrants’ lives through denaturalization and rescinding Temporary Protected Status, as well. The ACLU has long raised concerns about discriminatory questioning and detention at the border, and our concerns are particularly heightened in the current political climate.

As political tensions continue to flare between the U.S. and Iran, it is important to know our rights—and assert them.

The Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law and protects against discriminatory profiling and violations of First Amendment rights. We cannot allow actions abroad to be exploited as justifications for illegal and unfair discrimination at home.

Abdi Soltani, Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California

In 1996, at the height of the “tough on crime” era, President Bill Clinton signed two laws that dramatically changed the criminal legal system and radically altered the U.S. immigration system. Just as the 1994 crime bill instituted unjust mandatory minimum sentences and ballooned the prison population, the immigration bills of that same era led to similarly disastrous consequences for immigrants — an explosion in the growth of detention and unfairly harsh punishments for immigrants, including mandatory deportations for minor crimes. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) and Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) resulted in today’s draconian immigration enforcement system. The system only expanded with the increased criminalization of immigrants, who are then funneled into the detention and deportation pipeline — often with little to no due process. 

Reps. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Karen Bass, and Ayanna Pressley, in December 2019, introduced the New Way Forward Act (H.R. 5383), groundbreaking legislation that reimagines what a fair and just immigration system looks like. The bill restores fundamental due process protections for immigrants by ending the mandatory detention of immigrants without the right to release on bail while a judge reviews their case — sometimes subjecting people to years of incarceration. The legislation also breaks down automatic pipelines to deportation from the criminal legal system. For example, the bill would end the 287(g) program, which allows local police to act as federal immigration agents, exacerbates racial profiling, and empowers sherriffs, as was the case with Joe Arpaio. The bill would also end the automatic deportation of people who have had contact with the criminal legal system. This legislation also decriminalizes migration by ending federal criminal prosecutions for improper entry and reentry to the U.S. Not only is this a waste of government funding, it also misguidedly treats migration as a criminal act. 

Decades after the failures of the 1994 crime bill, Congress is tackling the injustices of our criminal legal system. Yet many of those same injustices are replicated in the immigration system, and should be similarly addressed. Take for example U.S. Army veteran and ACLU of Southern California client Hector Barajas. After being honorably discharged, Hector — like many veterans who return to civilian life with little support from our government — had difficulty adjusting and served three years in prison for a crime involving a firearm. Hector, a legal permanent resident, was immediately subject to the 1996 immigration laws. During his deportation hearing, the law prevented an immigration judge from considering the equities in his case, including his years of military service. Instead, the law mandated his incarceration in immigration jail, and ultimately required the judge to order him deported. In 2017, Hector received a pardon from Governor Jerry Brown and in 2018, he became a U.S. citizen.

Mark Hwang is another example of someone impacted by the 1996 laws. An ACLU client, Mark was stopped by ICE for changing lanes without a signal. He was on his way to meet his wife and newborn twins, and had his one-year-old in the car. After his arrest, Mark, who was a legal permanent resident, was subjected to mandatory detention and detained without a bond hearing for six months — kept from his children and leaving his wife to care for their three infants — because of a decade old marijuana possession conviction for which he had already served his sentence. Just as he was on the brink of signing deportation papers, Mark got a bond hearing, thanks to a federal court order in an ACLU lawsuit. Mark was finally released on bond, allowing him a real shot at fighting his deportation. He was able to work with an attorney to have his marijuana charge vacated, removing the threat of deportation. 

People like Hector and Mark are in a small minority. Far too many immigrants are locked up and summarily banished from this country without real due process. The ACLU enthusiastically supports the New Way Forward Act, which if passed will change the lives of countless immigrants and communities and restore due process in our immigration system. The bill sets a framework for Congress to recognize and fix our broken immigration system and build a new one that gives everyone their fair day in court. It is past time for Congress to pave a new way forward in our U.S. immigration system.

Madhuri Grewal, Federal Immigration Policy Counsel, ACLU National Political Advocacy Department,
& Yesenia Chavez, Policy Analyst, ACLU National Political Advocacy Department

This post is also published in Orlando Sentinel.

As the 2020 session of the Florida Legislature approaches, Florida Corrections Secretary Mark Inch has told lawmakers he needs $90 million more to add and retain prison guards to deal with critical understaffing.

The amount of taxpayer dollars needed to keep people locked up went from $2.4 billion in 2018 to $2.7 billion this year, driven by court orders to provide adequate health care and mental health services for an aging prison population. And that doesn’t count the tens of millions of dollars spent housing more than 50,000 people in county jails daily.

Meanwhile, other Southern states have begun to slash their prison populations — and their prison spending — since the Great Recession in 2009. According to a new national study, Mississippi locks up 15 percent fewer people; Louisiana, 16 percent; South Carolina 17 percent; and Alabama, a whopping 25 percent.

By finding alternatives to incarceration, including treatment programs for people suffering from substance use, and funding better re-entry programs to keep those released from backsliding, other southern states are saving millions of dollars that they can use to stimulate the economy and provide better community resources.

Leaders in those states simply decided they could no longer afford to waste millions in taxpayer dollars in revolving door prison systems that did not keep their states safer and it’s time Florida does the same.

Other states that started these policies earlier have gone even farther: In the past 20 years, New York has reduced its prison population by 32 percent and New Jersey by 38 percent. None of the states mentioned have reported crime waves as a result. They decided that the vogue of the 1990s—mass incarceration—was too costly and unnecessarily destroyed lives.

In those states, criminal justice reform has won bi-partisan support. Traditional conservatives avidly embraced the cost-cutting and the scientific data that demonstrated that locking people up was not only more expensive but often counterproductive.

Conservatives and libertarians like the Koch Brothers have championed the reforms. And in December 2018, President Donald Trump signed the federal First Step Act, which will result in thousands of individuals who do not pose a threat to society being released from federal prison and receiving improved re-entry services.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, meanwhile, spend more money every year in service of a false narrative: While other states have decided to invest in people and not prisons, some Florida conservatives still cling to an outdated, ineffective, and costly “tough on crime” approach that results in devastating families and communities. The truth is Florida lawmakers are being tough on Florida taxpayers. In the 2020 legislative session, they will once again have a chance to embrace reforms that will keep Floridians safe and save money at the same time.

The most impactful change proposed is also the simplest and the safest: we could save millions of taxpayer dollars by increasing the amount of good behavior and rehabilitation credits that can be earned and applied towards reducing an individual’s sentence. These credits are for such activities as learning a skill or trade, completing an education program, or general good behavior — in other words, for doing the very things we demand individuals do in prison — pay their debt and learn how to become contributing members of society. Doing so would incentivize rehabilitation and free up millions that are currently being wasted on warehousing individuals who do not pose a threat to society and do not need to be in prison.

At the moment, no matter how much a person has repented for their mistakes and turned their life around and demonstrated to everyone that they do not pose a risk to public safety, they must still serve 85 percent of their sentence. Bills to be introduced in 2020 would lower that to 65 percent for those prisoners who qualify for the credits, creating greater incentive for good behavior and rehabilitation.

State budget estimators have said that this one move could reduce Florida’s prison population by 9,000 by 2023-24 and save $860 million. Some estimates have predicted a reduction in prison population of twice that size and even greater savings. That would put Florida in step with other states in the region. At the moment, Florida is the big-spending outlier.

Give currently incarcerated people a chance to earn their way out. Tell your state lawmakers that they should increase the time off for good behavior and self-improvement. Let’s invest in people not prisons, and save taxpayer money too.