Though Lieberman has not yet introduced legislation in congress, the Lieberman citizenship bill is already raising tensions on both sides of the aisle. Legal experts are calling the bill, simply, “draconian”. The American legal system is intended for citizens and non-citizens, and generally accessible even without small cash loans. Will the Lieberman citizenship bill cause more problems than it solves, or will it be effective?
History behind the Lieberman citizenship bill?
Senator Lieberman wrote the citizenship bill after expressing concerns over how Faisal Shahzad was treated after his arrest. Publicly, Senator Lieberman has worried over Shahzad was read his Miranda rights – despite the fact that he was read them late. Shahzad was read his Miranda rights, a fact that Senator Lieberman has decried. As an American citizen, Faisal is protected by civil rights protections, including due process.
Details of the Lieberman citizenship bill
Any person with “ties to a foreign terrorist organization” would have their citizenship revoked by the Lieberman bill. This legislation would have the possibility of stripping constitutional protections from citizens or former citizens. The questions about this bill are mostly questions about how these citizenship-revoking actions would be defined.
Definitions under the Lieberman citizenship bill
There are numerous questions raised by the Lieberman citizenship bill. First of all, the bill does not define what exactly are “ties” to terrorist organizations. The bill also does not include a standard of proof, or any recourse for anybody who is wrongfully accused. New authorities would be granted to the State Department to choose who is a citizen.
Lieberman citizenship bill would not solve problem
Lieberman has said this bill is intended to “fix” the fact Miranda rights were read to the Times Square bomber. The fact Lieberman’s citizenship bill would strip some rights would not “fix” the Miranda “problem”. Miranda warnings apply to any person charged with a crime – whether they’re a citizen or not.
Constitutional questions about the Lieberman citizenship bill
The Lieberman citizenship bill would, if passed, almost certainly face legal challenges. The current law of the land is that everyone who fights for a foreign army “does so at the risk of their citizenship”. A 1967 Supreme Court ruling also states that a U.S. Citizen cannot involuntarily be deprived of their citizenship. The only way a government can revoke citizenship is to prove that the citizen intended on revoking it on their own.
Read More:
Atlantic Wire
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/5-Problems-With-Liebermans-Citizenship-Stripping-Bill-3488
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/05/citizen-lieberman/56227/
Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/news/times_square_bomb_attempt/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/05/05/faisal_shahzad_lieberman
Washington Post
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/05/how_liebermans_citizen-strippi.html
