 ATTACK ON AMERICA - IMMIGRATION UPDATE
Nearly 1,000 people have been detained as part of the terrorist investigation, but none appear to have a direct link to the September 11th attacks. Authorities are not providing much information about the detainees, not revealing how many have been detained or who many of those detained have been released. In many cases the government is holding people for weeks on end without charging them. Attorneys report being denied access to their clients, and in some cases not even being told where the client is being held. Some even report that clients are suffering verbal and physical assaults while in detention.
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Rep. Darrell Issa of California, a descendent of Lebanese immigrants, was denied a seat on an Air France flight to Paris. On October 4, Air France workers at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, DC, refused to let him board. Issa says it is because he had a series of one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia, where he was going on official business, and because he has “an Arab surname.” The airline contends he was not allowed to board because he arrived late. Issa says the experience has led him to believe that even though Congress needs to address anti-terrorism legislation, it needs to be aware that its decisions could instigate racial profiling.
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A New Jersey man taken into custody as part of the investigation into the terrorist attacks has been charged with lying to investigators about checks totaling more than 0,000. The man, Mohammad Aslam Perves, was connected with two men who were taken off an Amtrak train on September 11th. They were taken off the train because Amtrak authorities thought the two were smuggling drugs. A search revealed no drugs, but the two men were carrying box cutters, more than ,000 in cash and multiple passports. Officials believe Pervez may have been involved in funding the attacks.
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A federal magistrate last week refused to release Fadhil Al-Khaledy, one of the 22 immigrants arrested in the week after September 11th for fraudulently obtaining hazardous material driver’s licenses. He pled not guilty. At a recent hearing prosecutors recommended that he be released and confined at home through electronic monitoring. The judge disagreed, and ordered Al-Khaledy’s continued detention. Such a decision, when prosecutors recommend release, is highly unusual.
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A San Diego cab driver originally from Afghanistan was recently beaten by passengers. While carrying three people, two men and a woman, the female passenger asked Tamim Keshawarz where he was from. After learning he was from Afghanistan, they accused him of being a terrorist, and after getting out of the cab, one of the male passengers began beating Keshawarz while the female passenger began screaming about it, apparently trying to encourage others to join the attack. The male passenger was charged with assault and released on bail, while police are investigating whether there are any grounds to charge the female.
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Mohdar Abdallah, a San Diego State University student who has been held as a material witness in the terrorist investigation since September 21, has been charged with lying on an asylum application. Abdallah was born in Yemen and used a Yemeni passport to enter the US, while on his asylum application he claimed to be from Somalia. Abdallah worked at a gas station with one of the suspected hijackers, but it not believed to have known anything about the attacks.
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Following the death last week of a Pakistani immigrant in INS detention, representatives of the INS met with Muslim leaders in New Jersey to tell them that the agency would try to speed up the released of people who were detained after the terrorist attacks but who have been cleared of any involvement. The immigrant who died, Muhammed Rafiq Butt, was arrested on September 19. He was cleared of any involvement and agreed to voluntary departure because of a visa violation. Delays in obtaining travel papers caused his continued detention.
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INS officials have determined the precise nature of the problems with the January arrival in the US of Mohamed Atta, the suspected leader of the September 11th hijackers. Records initially seemed to show two entries on the same day. In fact, there were not two arrivals, but there were two arrival forms. Officials believe the problem was caused by an inspector who initially granted Atta an eight-month stay, instead of six months. Later, Atta went to the INS office in Miami to ask how long he could remain in the US. There, his original I-94 was cancelled and a second one issued with only a six month stay allowed.
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This week the countries whose participation in the Visa Waiver Program is under review were revealed. The countries are Argentina, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Uruguay. State Department representatives said that the review had been planned before September 11th, but is now on an accelerated pace, with recommendations possible by the end of the year.
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One of the leading forces in the battle to repeal Section 110, the automated entry-exit system passed in 1996 was the Americans for Better Borders coalition, composed of two major groups, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the US Chamber of Commerce. Responding to the new crisis, the organization has been reformed and is working on security increased resources for both the northern and southern border. In addition, the coalition works to provide information about the need to preserve the ability of people and products to easily cross the borders to both Congress and the general public.
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