This is a key moment to make sure that Deval Patrick and his administration know that civil liberties and civil rights need to be a priority. Please take just two minutes to let them know what you want them to do!
There are three areas that we are asking people to comment on:
* Not making State Police troopers enforce federal immigration laws;
* Opposing the federal “Real ID” program; and
* Watching the Watchers at the Fusion Center.
As Deval Patrick prepares to take over the Governor’s office, his transition team has set up a special website and is actively asking for comments on a range of issues. This is a rare opportunity, so please go to the Patrick/Murray Transition team website today!
Here is the exact page to visit:
http://www.patrickmurraytransition.org/comments.cfm
Read
You can copy the text below and paste it into the comments box on that web page. It’s great if you wish to personalize your message, but it isn’t necessary, and you are limited to 2000 characters (about 250 words), so it may be easiest just to copy the text below as-is.
Once there, it only takes three easy steps:
1) Fill in your name, email, phone, and zip code
2) Select “Public Safety and Security” from the list of issues
3) Just copy ONLY the text just between the lines below and paste it into the comments box:
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There are three very important actions that your administration needs to take regarding public safety and security:
* Rescinding Gov. Mitt Romney’s decision to allow state troopers to enforce federal immigration laws: this proposal will make our communities less safe, while increasing the chances that US citizens and legal residents will be subject to illegal racial and ethnic profiling.
* Opposing the federal Real ID program: The Real ID Act of 2005 would turn our state driver’s licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments — while doing nothing to protect against terrorism. As a result, it is stirring intense opposition from many groups across the political spectrum.
* Understanding and overseeing the activities of the Fusion Center: There are important issues concerning the scope of its operations and need for safeguards. You must ensure that its operation does not violate civil liberties or intrude on personal privacy. The public needs much more information about what precisely the Fusion Center will do, what information they will be collecting, who will have access to the information, and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent abuse.
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Thanks for your continued support of civil liberties and civil rights!
Additional Information and Links:
* Rescinding Mitt Romney’s decision to allow state troopers to enforce federal immigration laws: this proposal increases the danger that State Police officers will detain people based on their race or ethnicity, leading to violations of the rights of U.S. citizens and legal residents whose only ‘offense’ is looking foreign. For more information visit http://www.aclum.org/news/06.21.06.Immigration.pdf and http://www.aclum.org/news/06.22.06.Romney_Immigration.pdf
* Opposing the federal “Real ID” program: It would turn driver’s licenses into what would be, for all practical purposes, the Unites States’ first-ever national identity cards. It would create one-stop shopping for identity theft. As an unfunded federal mandate, it also threatens to be a budget-buster for the state. For more visit the ACLU’s Real ID website: http://www.realnightmare.org/
* Watching the Watchers at the Fusion Center: We need to make sure that the state’s new data-collection and data-mining Fusion Center is not a repackaged TIPS program that recruits meter readers and neighbors to spy on people. The Fusion Center raises important issues concerning the scope of its operations and need for safeguards to ensure that its operation does not violate civil liberties or intrude on personal privacy. For more see: http://www.aclum.org/news/05.11.05.Fusion.pdf