Bill Clinton’s shameful legacy on immigration: “Terrible” laws he signed “rip apart” families and authorize unjust detention, Human Rights Watch says

Rights group says 1996 laws created a system of mass detention and abuse for refugees and migrants

By Ben Norton, Salon.com
April 27, 2016

Clinton-era immigration laws “have subjected hundreds of thousands of people to arbitrary detention, fast-track deportations and family separation,” Human Rights Watch says in a new report.

The rights group says two 1996 immigration laws signed by President Bill Clinton have created a system in which refugees and migrants face detention and fast-track deportation without adequate consideration from U.S. authorities.

Human Rights Watch is calling on the U.S. Congress to repeal provisions in these two laws.

President Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, or AEDPA, in 1996. Human Rights Watch says the legislation “greatly expanded the grounds for detaining and deporting immigrants, including long-term legal residents,” authorizing for the first time fast-track deportation procedures, which are now frequently used in the U.S.[...]

Read the full article:
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/27/bill_clintons_shameful_legacy_on_immigration_terrible_laws_he_signed_rip_apart_families_and_authorize_unjust_detention_human_rights_watch_says/