WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the “Detention of Enemy Combatants Act” today. This legislation authorizes the detainment of enemy combatants in the war on terrorism while guaranteeing that they are granted timely access to legal counsel and judicial review.
Earlier this week, a federal judge in South Carolina ruled that the Administration lacks statutory and constitutional authority to indefinitely imprison a U.S. citizen designated as an enemy combatant without criminal charges. This decision, and many others, has left unanswered questions that Congress must resolve. Justice Scalia noted in his important dissent to the Hamdi decision that “I frankly do not know whether these tools are sufficient to meet the Government's security needs, including the need to obtain intelligence through interrogation. It is far beyond my competence, or the Court's competence, to determine that. But it is not beyond Congress’s.”
“While we must grant broad latitude to our armed forces when it comes to protecting national security, American citizens should not be held indefinitely upon the sole determination of one branch of government without access to counsel or proper judicial review of those determinations,” said Schiff.
“I am reintroducing this legislation in the hope that Congress and the Administration will finally work together. In the near future, I may introduce additional legislation that establishes specific standards and procedures under which terrorism suspects may be detained as enemy combatants and provided due process,” added Schiff.
Congressman Schiff has a history of working to ensure that all Americans are granted their due rights under the Constitution. In the 108th Congress, Schiff authored a measure that would require the Attorney General to disclose the number of citizens and residents detained and the standards used to designate individuals as enemy combatants. This passed the House as part of the Justice Department Authorization Bill.
Congressman Schiff is the founder of the Congressional Caucus on the Judicial Branch and a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations committees. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles for six years. He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.
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