Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499; fax 212-674-9139; wnu@igc.org. INB is also distributed free via email (see below).

On Jan. 26, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced HR 418, the "Real ID Act," with 115 co-sponsors. The bill includes a host of anti-immigrant provisions which were left out of "intelligence reform" legislation passed by Congress last December [see INB 12/11/04]. Among other things, the bill would bar states from issuing driver licenses to undocumented immigrants, and set up a system of "temporary" and "regular" licenses according to immigration status; impose new restrictions on asylum seekers, such as allowing officials to require written corroboration of asylum claims; and mandate completion of a third border fence near San Diego, overriding 16 state and federal environmental laws that currently bar its construction [see INB 2/21/04]. In defining grounds for inadmissibility, the bill also states that "an alien who is an officer, official, representative, or spokesman of the Palestine Liberation Organization is considered, for purposes of this Act, to be engaged in a terrorist activity."

HR 418 is expected to move quickly to the House floor, where it may be attached as an amendment to fast-tracked supplemental appropriations bills for tsunami relief or the US war in Iraq, and scheduled for a vote as early as Feb. 9. Media reports suggest Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) may also introduce companion legislation in the Senate.

On Feb. 1, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA)--who co-sponsored HR 418-- introduced a separate bill, HR 368, the "Driver's License Security and Modernization Act," which would require that each US state confirm an immigrant's legal status before issuing a driver license or other state-issued identification card. HR 368 has been referred to the House Government Reform committee, which Davis chairs.

Immigrant rights supporters are urged to call Congress (202- 224-3121) and the White House (202-456-1111) to express opposition to these bills. For more information, see http://humanrightsfirst.org and http://aila.org. [National Immigration Forum Alert 2/2/05; Rights Working Group Alert 2/4/05; Latin America Working Group Alert 2/2/05; Text of HR 418 from http://thomas.loc.gov]

Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), the House majority leader, said on Feb. 1 that a guest worker program proposed by President George W. Bush will not be included in debate over HR 418. Congress can consider such measures over the next two years, said DeLay. Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who supports both the guest worker plan and HR 418, confirmed he would not try to combine the two proposals; he said he considers HR 418 to be a border security measure, not an immigration bill. [Washington Times 2/2/05]

On Feb. 3, the Senate voted 60-36 to confirm Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. [Roll call at senate.gov] Gonzales has been widely criticized for his positions on the use of torture in interrogations [see 11/20/04, 1/22/05].

Immigration News Briefs (INB), a weekly English-language summary of US immigration news, is forwarded out to the email list of the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHRI). If you receive INB as a forwarded message, and you wish to subscribe directly to INB, or to the CHRI email list (which includes INB and local NYC area events, average 4-5 messages a week), write to nicajg@panix.com (indicate "CHRI list" or "INB only").