1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

CONGRESS MUST DEFEND LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENTS As your constituent, I urge you to speak out immediately against the new enforcement effort aimed at re-vetting and deporting lawful permanent residents. A green card should provide real legal security, not be reopened years later without clear safeguards. Many green card holders have built their lives in the United States in reliance on lawful status granted by the government. GREEN CARD HOLDERS SHOULD NOT LIVE IN FEAR OF RETROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT Recent reporting indicates that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has created a unit reviewing older green card cases and has identified at least 50 lawful permanent residents for possible deportation. This enforcement effort appears difficult to reconcile with the longstanding position of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that green card holders may live permanently in the United States unless removable under law. If the government has proof of fraud or legal disqualification, it already has tools to act. What is unacceptable is a campaign that chills lawful residents and targets settled families. Retrospective re-vetting undermines public confidence. People who already passed review should not face reopened cases without strong evidence and due process. CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THIS PROGRAM This policy raises urgent questions. Who ordered the review? What standards are being used? Are old files being reopened selectively? Are people being targeted because of politics, religion, nationality, speech, or minor past mistakes? Are lawful residents receiving notice, counsel, records, and a fair hearing before an immigration judge? Congress should not allow the executive branch to quietly weaken permanent residence. Green card holders are lawful members of our communities. Congress must make clear that permanent residence means something, due process means something, and legal immigrants must not be subjected to enforcement practices that lack adequate safeguards. CONGRESS MUST PROTECT GREEN CARD HOLDERS FROM ARBITRARY ENFORCEMENT Please take the following actions: (1) Publicly oppose re-vetting of lawful permanent residents lacking clear statutory safeguards. (2) Hold oversight hearings requiring testimony from DHS, USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and affected families. (3) Require disclosure of standards, criteria, funding, staffing, safeguards, case totals, removal referrals, and pressure at airports, ports of entry, or interviews. (4) Require DHS to prove any alleged fraud with clear evidence, full notice, counsel, and judicial review before status is lost. (5) Enact legislation protecting green card holders from removal based on stale, minor, vague, or politically motivated grounds. (6) Bar the government from pressuring lawful permanent residents to abandon status without counsel, written notice, and review by an immigration judge. Thank you.