WASHINGTON December 8
WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives last night approved legislation by Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) aimed at ousting war criminals and torturers from the United States.

Foley's Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act, cosponsored by Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY), was included in the conference report on H.R. 10 (the 9-11 Commission Recommendations Implementation Act), which passed the House of Representatives 336 to 75. It will give the Department of Justice the ability to deport those who have committed crimes against humanity, torture or murder in other countries.

“The United States is currently home to many immigrants who fled torture in their home countries,” Foley said. “What many people don't know is that their torturers also come here to live."

“This nation should not allow these criminals to live the lives they so brutally denied their victims. Let’s be clear - torturers are terrorists. We will no longer be a safe haven for international criminals.”

Every year, an estimated 800-1,000 war criminals and human rights abusers seek refuge in the United States. Foley’s legislation would broaden the mandate of a special unit within the Justice Department, which for years has hunted down Nazis living in America, so it can pursue and deport modern-day mass murderers - whether from Haiti, Honduras, North Korea, Rwanda or Cuba. The Foley measure would provide one more weapon to ensure that proven terrorists can be brought to justice.

Currently, the Justice Department and Department of State do not have the specific authority to remove these people from the country or bar their admittance. This legislation closes that loophole.

Foley and Ackerman initially introduced the Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act more than four years ago after it became known that a number of immigrants known to be torturers had been admitted into the United States. A similar measure was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).