It was recently announced that Mazen Al-Najjar, a Palestinian immigrant whose case has garnered national attention for the past five years, was deported. Years ago, Al-Najjar’s case became a rallying point for those opposed to the detention of noncitizens on the basis of secret evidence. He was eventually released after three and a half years in detention, but less than a year later, in November 2001, he was again arrested and has been in INS detention since then. The INS had, relying on evidence Al-Najjar and his attorneys were not allowed to see, claimed he helped support terrorists through the activities of an Islamic charity he co-founded with his brother in law, Sami Al-Arian. These allegations were never proved to the satisfaction of a court, leading to his release. The basis of his deportation now is that he overstayed a temporary visa. The INS did not reveal to which country he was deported, to preserve his privacy, but said it was a Middle Eastern country “with friendly relations with the US,” such as Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar or Saudi Arabia. Supporters announced this week that Al-Najjar had arrived in Lebanon, and that he is planning on moving to South Africa.
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Refugee advocates say that with barely one month left in fiscal year 2002, only about 20,000 refugees have been admitted to the US. The maximum number for this year, which is set by the president, was 70,000. Observers say it is unlikely that more than 25,000 refugees will be admitted this year. Refugee admissions were suspended in October and November of 2001 as the government reexamined security procedures after September 11th.
In addition to increased background checks, the government also limited the number of refugees that could arrive on a single flight to 35, and limited refugee admissions to the ports of Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. In light of the low number of refugees admitted this year, a number of refugee organizations are calling on President Bush to allow up to 100,000 refugees to be admitted next year.
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A former New York judge for Hempstead Village was recently released on $200,000 bond after being arraigned on charges of participation in an immigration marriage fraud ring. Lawrence J. Goldstein, who was a judge for 25 years before his retirement last year, is accused of presiding over multiple marriages between the same women and different men, for a fee of $75 per ceremony.
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Earlier this month, a federal judge issued an order putting on hold her previous order that the government release the names of those detained in connection with the September 11th investigation. On August 2, Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that the government did not have any legitimate reason for keeping the information about roughly 1,200 people a secret. The stay allows the government to prepare and file an appeal without having to release the information.
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Federal officials this week dropped the government’s appeal of a case against a Nebraska meat processor accused of knowingly hiring undocumented workers. In December 2000, INS agents raided the facility of Nebraska Beef in Omaha, and four managers were indicted on charges of conspiring to hire undocumented workers and of providing them with fraudulent immigration documents. The charges were thrown out last April, with the judge finding that the INS acted in bad faith by deporting the workers before they could provide testimony. Now the government has reached a settlement with the company, and in exchange for dropping the criminal case, the company has made a charitable contribution to an immigration services group and has improved the methods used to verify employment eligibility.
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The State Department, which has faced criticism in a number of areas since the terrorist attacks last September, is again under fire, this time for shredding applications for the diversity visa lottery. Each year millions of applications are sent to a State Department facility in Kentucky, but only about 50,000 applications are selected for processing, and the remainder are shredded. Since the practice came to light, many have called for the State Department to save the entry forms, saying that they contain valuable personal information about possible threats to national security.
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After September 11th, Congress passed a law mandating stricter background security checks of all noncitizens attending flight schools in the US. Technical difficulties have delayed implementation of the program, which has in turn prevented many people, including lawful permanent residents, from pursuing their training. Many students have left the US to attend flight schools in other countries, creating a significant financial drain. One of the primary causes of the delay is that the Justice Department website that was to be used to help speed up the screening process simply does not work.
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There were more arrests recently at a number of airports in southern California as the INS continued with Operation Tarmac, a multi-agency effort to ensure that all people working at airports are authorized to do so. Officials say that they are not concerned that terrorists might be working at airports, but rather that undocumented workers are especially vulnerable to blackmail.
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This week the INS implemented a new rule designed to help part time commuter students who were faced with the prospect of being forced to stop their studies when the INS cracked down on the program earlier this year. Commuter students from Canada and Mexico who are attending school at a US institution located within 75 miles of the border will be allowed to pursue their studies with an F-1 or M-1 visa, whichever is appropriate. In the past, students attended classes on B visas, because student visas were not available to part time students. They will be tracked in the student tracking system as all other students are. Commuter students may continue attending classes in the US on B visas until December 31, 2002.
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