mr. speaker , first we have to talk about the procedure . 
this is a complicated bill . 
it includes several different subjects , asylum , identification , a fence , yet apparently the majority is contemplating , at most , one amendment . 
this is legislation by hostage-taking . 
you put a whole bunch of things together , including several that are controversial , so if members oppose any one of them , they will be extorted into voting for the whole package . 
we are in the process now , after the election in iraq , of trying to persuade the shiia , who will be in the overwhelming majority , to practice democracy , not to abuse their majority , but in fact to encourage members of the minority to participate . 
it is essential for us to be able to salvage what is going on in iraq for there to be an agreement on the part of the sunni muslims to participate . 
in other words , we are telling the people of iraq that to practice democracy means respect for minority rights . 
and here we have the majority in the house of representatives , a fairly narrow majority , apparently contemplating forcing an up-or-down vote on controversial legislation , maybe allowing one amendment , clearly repressing the strong desire of the minority to be able fully to debate it . 
in the end , the majority will decide , but they do n't even want the debate . 
and i guess i know , mr. speaker , it is a violation to address the tv audience , and i will not do so . 
but i will express the hope that if there are any members of the iraqi provisional assembly watching this , they understand the message that is very important . 
please do not try this at home . 
do not , in the iraqi assembly , show disrespect for the rights of the minority . 
that is the hallmark of this outrageous procedure . 
and why are we doing it ? 
it is 1 : 35 on wednesday . 
we are going to finish this debate , general debate and have the rest of the day to do nothing , tomorrow then maybe debate one or two amendments . 
there is no reason why . 
you know what ? 
what about an open rule ? 
what about democracy ? 
what about bringing a complicated bill to the floor and letting members offer amendments and the majority will win . 
you are not afraid , apparently , of losing the vote . 
you are afraid of losing the argument . 
and i understand why . 
let me talk now about asylum . 
this congress created the united states commission on international religious freedom in 1998 . 
that commission just issued a very lengthy report , very critical of the inhumane aspects of our asylum operation . 
mr. speaker , i include for the record the article from the new york times , documenting that report at this point . 
asylum seekers treated poorly , u.s. panel says thousands of people who come to the united states saying they are seeking refuge from persecution are treated like criminals while their claims are evaluated -- strip-searched , shackled and often thrown into solitary confinement in local jails and federal detention centers -- a bipartisan federal commission found in a report to be released today . 
the report , by the united states commission on international religious freedom , an agency created by congress in 1998 , describes an ad hoc system run by the department of homeland security that has extreme disparities in who is released or granted asylum , depending on whether someone seeks refuge in texas or new york , comes from iraq or haiti , or is represented by a lawyer . 
the new york metropolitan region ranks among the harshest in terms of the conditions of detention centers , with constant surveillance , stark quarters and degrading treatment . 
those awaiting a court decision on asylum are also less likely to be freed . 
for example , 3.8 percent of asylum seekers were freed from the detention center in elizabeth , n.j. , compared with 94 percent in san antonio . 
there were 8.4 percent released from the detention center in queens , while in chicago 81 percent were let go . 
one of the experts who examined the centers for the commission , craig haney , a psychologist who briefed the senate judiciary committee on the subject yesterday , said he was shocked by what he found . 
`` i was taken aback by the severity of conditions , the severity of deprivations and , frankly , the expense , '' he said in an interview . 
he said that one of 19 centers examined handled asylum seekers differently from criminals -- in broward county , fla. , where many seeking refuge are from cuba and where former cuban refugees form a potent political force . 
at $ 83 a day , the florida center costs less than half the $ 200 per detainee of the queens detention center , though both are run by the same company . 
the report said that women and children seeking asylum , `` whose trauma histories and emotional needs may be more severe and require more specialized training , '' were at greater risk of harm . 
among other recommendations , the commission urged that a high-level protector of refugees be appointed to monitor the system and correct inequities . 
manny van pelt , a spokesman for immigration and customs enforcement , an agency within homeland security that oversees the detention of asylum seekers , defended the system . 
`` we have a robust inspections program that conducts audits of our detention facilities nationwide , and our detention facilities are accredited and subjected to regular inspection by the u.n . 
high commission for refugees , '' he said in an interview . 
`` they are clean and they are safe environments . 
even better , the detention system protects the public. '' the commission had been asked by congress to examine the effectiveness of the nation 's asylum regulations , created in part as a response to the 1993 world trade center bombings , in an effort to balance the country 's desire to shelter those suffering from persecution abroad with its need to keep out criminals and terrorists . 
the system , known as expedited removal , requires those seeking asylum at airports and borders to be sent back immediately unless they are found to have a `` credible fear '' of persecution when questioned by immigration officers . 
those who pass the test -- a vast majority -- are then detained until an immigration judge decides the validity of their claim . 
unless they are released pending a decision , the average detainee is held for 64 days and a third stay more than 90 days -- some even years , the report found . 
the number of asylum seekers , and the rate at which they are freed , have both dropped sharply since the terrorist attacks of 2001 , the study showed . 
but rates of asylum also differed sharply by national groups between 2000 and 2004 , with more than 80 percent of cubans given a permanent right to stay , along with more than 60 percent of iraqis . 
by contrast , just more than 10 percent of those from haiti and fewer than 5 percent of those from ei salvador were granted asylum . 
detainees represented by lawyers were up to 30 times more likely to gain asylum , but in some places fewer than half the detainees had lawyers . 
with the exception of the operation at george bush intercontinental airport in houston , the report found that asylum seekers were not pressed to withdraw their asylum claims before the interview , nor were claims summarily denied . 
but it found that judges often wrongly used airport statements to deny asylum later . 
before the change in the law , only asylum seekers with criminal records were detained . 
now , nearly all are locked up with ordinary criminals . 
in 2003 , 5 , 585 men and 1 , 015 women seeking asylum were jailed . 
to cut down on that number , the commission recommended that the airport interviewers , and not just immigration judges , be given the authority to grant asylum on the spot when warranted . 
severe psychological damage is among the effects of throwing people seeking refuge together with criminals in `` stark conditions , '' the report said , describing 24-hour lights , chained walks to go eat , no privacy even to use the toilet and little chance to exercise outdoors . 
detainees are allowed to work but paid $ 1 a day . 
five of the 19 detention centers examined had mental health staff , and none had guards trained to work with victims of torture or repression . 
in most places the treatment for those considered suicidal was solitary confinement . 
a footnote pointed out that isolation was `` likely to exacerbate depression , '' not prevent suicide . 
`` the whole detention system is there to break you down further , '' one former detainee told interviewers in the report . 
`` you are not even allowed to cry . 
if you do , they take you to isolation. '' cut off from the outside world and not allowed incoming calls , even from a lawyer , the detainees are at high risk for depression , the commission said , and some even said they gave up their quest for asylum because of the unbearable conditions . 
since the 1996 change in immigration law , critics have complained that the system is subjecting those fleeing torture and repression to harsh conditions in detention that can drag on for years . 
but this is the first bipartisan examination based on an inside view . 
one of the republican commission members , michael k. young , the president of the university of utah and an adviser to president george h. w. bush , said great pains were taken to make the two-year effort politically balanced . 
`` that is one of the things that gives this report real strength , '' he said . 
preeta d. bansal , a democrat who chaired the commission , said more research is needed , especially on the reasons for the sharp drop in asylum seekers . 
`` we have been told that in foreign countries the department of homeland security is being employed to prevent people from even getting on board airplanes , '' said ms. bansal , a former solicitor general of new york state . 
`` we think further follow-up needs to be done. '' the report comes the same week that asylum legislation is to be introduced in the house by representative f. james sensenbrenner jr. , a wisconsin republican and chairman of the judiciary committee . 
among other visions , the bill , known as the real id act , would make it harder for refugees to get asylum . 
so we have a bipartisan committee on international religious freedom critical of our denial of asylum rights . 
and what is the response of the majority ? 
let us make a bad situation worse . 
mr. speaker , why not an open amendment procedure so those of us who have paid attention to this report could offer amendments that embody it ? 
why will we not be allowed to offer amendments from this interreligious commission , and it is an interreligious commission . 
i know one of the problems the majority has , and i sympathize , but apparently somebody has bowdlerized their bibles . 
and i sympathize ; these are people who have bibles , but their bibles have big things missing . 
for example , we often hear leviticus quoted on the floor of the house . 
leviticus 19 , chapters 33 and 34 , `` when an alien lives with you in your land , do not mistreat him . 
the alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born . 
love him as yourself , for you were aliens in egypt. '' now , that is in leviticus . 
i know leviticus gets turned on and off here like an electric bulb , but it does now seem to me that kind of cafeteria approach to religion is something the majority has adopted . 
here we have it in leviticus . 
this is undoubtedly why the catholic bishops have spoken out against this bill and have asked some of us to oppose it . 
but again , religion is to be invoked selectively so religious values are for another time , not when there is political hay to be made by taking this popular stance . 
what we have is an undemocratic procedure being mobilized to suppress , even debate , and an opportunity to consider the report of this commission in the service of a doctrine which would seem to me to violate some fundamental religious principles . 
i guess the majority has the votes to do that if they want to , but they have a day to reconsider , and i hope perhaps something will change their minds . 
