Have you read anything about this proposed bill? The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act. It is frightening to me. It will do nothing to protect against terrorists.

Here is just a sampling of the concerns all of us should have about the proposed act.

Under current law being in the U.S. without valid status is a civil violation, not A CRIMINAL ACT. hr 4437 WOULD MAKE THIS A FEDERAL CRIME. And would define immigration violations so broadly as to include every violation no matter how minor, technical or unintentional. It would also permanently bar the entire undocumented population including 1.6 million children. It will lead to separation of family members who would never be able to to secure lawful immigration status in the U.S.

It greatly expands the definition of "alien smuggling" to anyone trying to assist an immigrant in remaining in or attempting to remain in the U.S. when the "offender" knows the person is in the U.S. unlawfully. This includes social services organizations, refugee agencies, churches, lawyers, concerned citizens. You would be treated and charged the same as smuggling rings. Even family members and charitable workers could face Federal Prison time for assisting undocumented immigrants.

HR 4437 would require the Department of Homeland Security to detain all non-citizens caught along the boarder until they are removed from the U.S. Yes, detention centers! And if those detention centers become to crowded ,which of course they will as they try to remove all undocumented immigrants, then HR 4437 will authorize a contract with state and local jails to detain them. Furthermore criminalizing immigrants and also filling our already over crowded jails!

And get this, Aggravated Felonies are supposed to reserved for the worst and most violent crimes like rape and murder, they carry the most serious immigration consequences. But under HR 4437 even the most minor crimes, usually a misdemeanor, such as drunk driving, assisting an undocumented worker to reside in the U.S., even being in the U.S. without documentation will then be treated as a felony. But see the thing is most of the charges can be retroactive meaning that someone who committed a minor offense 20 years ago that was not a deportable offense then could now be charged with an aggravated felony. And the offense no matter how minor then will trigger the same immigration consequences of a major crime. Mandatory deportation, mandatory detention, disqualification of almost all immigration benefits, permanent banishment from the U.S. with no hope of lawful return. At risk include permanent residents who have lived here lawfully for decades. And because the non-citizen population is so large many American families include both immigrants and citizens this will break up U.S. citizen families with no hope of ever being reunited!

There are many many more unbelievable propositions in this bill.

I urge you to check this bill out for yourselves and if you feel as I do about this proposed act, contact your congressmen and urge them to vote no. I believe we do need to overhaul our immigration laws but not with HR 4437. I think the proposed Kennedy/McCain bill is the right way to go.