NEWS BYTES

The US recently closed its consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, citing security threats.  Last June, terrorists drove a truck bomb up to the entrance of the consulate and exploded it, resulting in the deaths of 12 people and the injury of 50 others.  In related news, the continuing violence in Israel has prompted the State Department to relocate its consular office in East Jerusalem.  This consulate provides visa services to Palestinians living in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.  The main consulate general, which is in West Jerusalem, will remain there.  There is no firm timetable for the move, nor is there any new location that has been designated for the move.

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Following the announcement that the Office for Mexicans Abroad would be closed, Mexican President Vicente Fox has announced plans for the creation of a new agency to provide services to Mexicans living outside the country.  The new agency will be called the National Council for Mexican Communities Abroad, and will be part of the Foreign Ministry.  The new agency, like the old one, will focus on coordinating immigration policy and providing services to Mexicans living abroad.

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An undocumented immigrant from Iran was recently arrested on charges of impersonating an INS agent and arresting another Iranian.  According to court documents, last June Peyman Bahadori, who was on parole after being detained for immigration violations, told people, including four Aurora, Colorado police officers, that the INS had contracted with him to track down undocumented immigrants.  Bahadori arrested Aydin Mikilani, a permanent resident, at his job, and drove him to his home to get his green card.  Fortunately, by the time they arrived, some of Mikilani’s co-workers had arrived there, and one asked for Bahadori’s identification.  Bahadori put a gun to his head and threatened to shoot him.  He then drove off with Mikilani and contacted the Aurora police, who arrived and allowed Bahadori to search Mikilani’s apartment.  Mikilani’s friends went to Denver police, but they concluded that Bahadori was entitled to arrest Mikilani.  After searching his apartment, Bahadori announced that Mikilani’s documents were valid and released him.

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In May the INS announced that it was terminating its policy of allowing part-time students from Canada and Mexico to attend school in the US on B visas, and set a July 1 deadline for all ports to be in compliance with the new rule.  The deadline was once extended to August 15, and was recently again extended again until December 31, 2002.  To benefit from this extension, the student must have been enrolled in school prior to May 22, 2002.

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The INS recently detained two men from Pakistan who allegedly obtained fraudulent visas at the US consulate in Qatar.  They were arrested earlier this month as part of the investigation into claims that dozens of people fraudulently obtained visas in Qatar. 

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An immigration judge in Atlanta ruled this week that the INS could not deport a Palestinian permanent resident for failing to report an address change to the INS.  Thar Abdel-Jaber was detained by the INS after being stopped for speeding by police in Raleigh, North Carolina.  According to Abdel-Jaber, both the INS and FBI questioned him about whether he had ties to terrorism.  His attorney argued that the INS could not deport him on the basis of a law it never told him about.  The address change law has been on the books for decades, but only last month did Attorney General John Ashcroft announce that it would begin being enforced.  Even though Abdel-Jaber was found to have no links to terrorism or any other criminal activity, the INS detained him for two months.  In ruling that this failure to notify the INS of a change of address could not be the basis for deportation, the immigration judge found that the failure must be willful in order to be the basis for deportation.

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