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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif. |
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| jannah |
| 12/19/02 at 10:35:27 |
| Assalamu alaykum Dear brothers and sisters, as you know the new rule in the U.S. for non-citizen and non-permanent resident immigrants from certain nations to go and register themselves with the INS is now in effect. We have breaking news that in California, hundreds of Muslim immigrants have been held (jailed) when they went to register themselves. MSA National is appealing to you to please check on the status of family, fellow students, co-workers, and friends who are affected by this rule insha'allah. The ACLU has clearly stated their opposition to the immigrants being held, detained, jailed, whatever the INS wants to call it. "I think it is shocking what is happening. It is reminiscent of what happened in the past with the internment of Japanese Americans. We are getting a lot of telephone calls from people. We are hearing that people went down wanting to cooperate and then they were detained," said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's executive director (from Reuters story below, 12/18/02) Please make du'a and work with local Muslim organizations in your area to make sure that no immigrant becomes a victim of this latest round of the war on Islam. Wassalamu alaykum ************************************ REUTERS REPORTING... Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif. Wed Dec 18, 8:47 PM ET By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars. Shocked and frustrated Islamic and immigrant groups estimate that more than 500 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, neighboring Orange County and San Diego in the past three days under a new nationwide anti-terrorism program. Some unconfirmed reports put the figure as high as 1,000. The arrests sparked a demonstration by hundreds of Iranians outside a Los Angeles immigration office. The protesters carried banners saying "What's next? Concentration camps?" and "What happened to liberty and justice?." A spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service said no numbers of people arrested would be made public. A Justice Department (news - web sites) spokesman could not be reached for comment. The head of the southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) compared the arrests to the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during the Second World War. "I think it is shocking what is happening. It is reminiscent of what happened in the past with the internment of Japanese Americans. We are getting a lot of telephone calls from people. We are hearing that people went down wanting to cooperate and then they were detained," said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's executive director. JAILS OVERFLOWING One activist said local jails were so overcrowded that the immigrants could be sent to Arizona, where they could face weeks or months in prisons awaiting hearings before immigration judges or deportation. "It is a shock. You don't expect this to happen. It is really putting fright and apprehension in the community. People who come from these countries -- this is what they expect from their government. Not from America," said Sabiha Khan of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. The arrests were part of a post Sept. 11 program that requires all males over 16 from a list of 20 Arab or Middle East countries, who do not have permanent resident status in the United States, to register with U.S. immigration authorities. Monday was the deadline for men from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan. News of the mass arrests came first in southern California, which is home to more than 600,000 Iranian exiles and their families. Officials declined to give figures for those arrested or for the numbers of people who turned up to register, be fingerprinted and have their photographs taken. "We are not releasing any numbers," said Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) spokesman Francisco Arcaute. CALLS FOR HELP Islamic groups and the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said they had been swamped with calls for help. INS spokesman Arcaute said those arrested had violated immigration laws, overstayed their visas, or were wanted for crimes. The program was prompted by concern about the lack of records on tourists, students and other visitors to the United States after the Sept. 11 hijack plane attacks on New York and Washington. Islamic community leaders said many of the detainees had been living, working and paying taxes in the United States for five or 10 years, and had families here. "Terrorists most likely wouldn't come to the INS to register. It is really a bad way to go about it. They are being treated as criminals and that really goes against American ideals of fairness, and justice and democracy," Khan said. The Iranian protesters said many of those detained were victims of official delays in processing visa and green card requests. "My father, they just took him in," one young man told reporters. "They've been treating him like an animal. They put him in a room with, like, 50 other people and no bed or anything." Khan said one of those in jail was a doctor, who was being sponsored for U.S. citizenship when his sponsor died. One Syrian man said he went to register in Orange County with a dozen friends. He was the only one to come out of the INS office. "All my friends are inside right now," M.M. Trapici, 45, told reporters. "I have to visit the family for each one today. Most of them have small kids." |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| Red |
| 12/19/02 at 13:32:01 |
| [slm], I just don't understand it. I have never heard of anything like this before. They were only doing what they were told to do: " The arrests were part of a post Sept. 11 program that requires all males over 16 from a list of 20 Arab or Middle East countries, who do not have permanent resident status in the United States, to register with U.S. immigration authorities. Monday was the deadline for men from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan. News of the mass arrests came first in southern California, which is home to more than 600,000 Iranian exiles and their families. " May Allah help them. Ameen. red :( |
| 12/19/02 at 13:36:23 |
| Red |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| Sparrow |
| 12/19/02 at 16:17:06 |
| Great judgment on the part of the US government to do this now when they are trying to convince a very skeptical world that they are not out to do Middle Easterners in! Kudos! (not). Normally I am of the opinion that anyone here illegally should be tossed out without delay but the signaling out of Middle Easterners simply adds fuel to an already blazing fire. If they are going to toss illegals out, round up the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US too. You know, since 9/11 I have had a lot of arguments with people about this sort of thing, and the prevailing opinion seems to be that it is justified to violate the civil rights of certain groups because, well, it's not the Irish who want to kill Americans. I don't know though, it seems to me that the values we hold dear as a nation shouldn't hold true only in times of peace and safety. Isn't it how we behave in times of fear and chaos that are the true test of our principles? There is a great line from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (the best of the Treks, IMHO) when Captain Sisko says, in reference to a similar situation, "It's easy to be a Saint in Paradise." So true. It's easy to hold to our ideals when the going is easy. We have to be able to do it in rougher waters as well. Off the soap box. Sparrow |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| Traveler |
| 12/19/02 at 20:37:18 |
Well said sparrow. cheers [] |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| yunus |
| 12/19/02 at 21:38:03 |
May Allah curse Bush and this government for the injustice they are causing against us here in America and aborad. The time is now to organize it is almost to the point that they are not letting us practice our religion without these kafir trying to instill fear in us for serving Allah. There is a story that they saq about the nazis and it goes like this: 1st they came for the communists and i did not speak out because I was not a communist then they came for the trade unionists and i did not speak out because i was not a trade unionist next they cam for the homosexuals and i did not speak out because i was not a homosexual then they came for the gypsies,jews, jeovah witness and seventh day adventist and i did not speak out because is was not one of them last they came for me and there was no one left to speak out How long to we have to wait before we take action when they finally intern us (which i believe it is coming to unless we do something and Allah chooses likewise) When we are interned or start killing us it will be to late this is not beyond the evil of this government all we have to do is look at the history of this imperailist state PLEASE BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACT NOW BEFORE IT IS TO LATE We need to change the injustice with our hand instead of just hating it in our hearts for that is the best way to fight injustice according to our Holy Prophet pbuh |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| bhaloo |
| 12/19/02 at 22:09:07 |
| [slm] This is just plain crazy. :( Last week a few more countries were added to the list, including Pakistan. Those people have to report to the INS by March (some date in march). And if they don't then they'll be thrown in jail and if they do, it seems like they could face the same fate. [quote] How long to we have to wait before we take action when they finally intern us (which i believe it is coming to unless we do something and Allah chooses likewise) When we are interned or start killing us ip will be to late this is not beyond the evil of this government all we have to do is look at the history of this imperailist state [/quote] I agree, this could happen very soon. The did it to the Japanese in WWII, so what's preventing them from doing it to us now. [quote] Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (the best of the Treks, IMHO) [/quote] No way, Star Trek the Next Generation was the best. Captain Picard was an incredible captain, after that, Star Trek fell apart. :) |
| 12/19/02 at 22:19:42 |
| bhaloo |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| Sparrow |
| 12/20/02 at 09:41:18 |
| QUOTE: "No way, Star Trek the Next Generation was the best. Captain Picard was an incredible captain, after that, Star Trek fell apart." Fell apart?! FELL APART?!! Picard was the MAN, no doubt, and the best of the captains (although I also give props to Janeway for going where no woman has gone before) but DS9 was a richer, darker, more spiritual show, IMHO, except for Season 1 which was like watching paint dry. And the Defiant rocked. :P Live Long and Prosper, Sparrow |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| WhatDFish |
| 12/22/02 at 12:15:03 |
| your dignity and honour and future and of those who were rounded up are at stake and ure talkin abt star trek? |
| 12/22/02 at 12:18:02 |
| WhatDFish |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| Tesseract |
| 12/22/02 at 13:51:41 |
| Assalamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullah, [quote]Last week a few more countries were added to the list, including Pakistan. Those people have to report to the INS by March (some date in march).[/quote] That includes the 3rd round of registration at INS by non-immigrants and it includes 3 countries: Pakistan, Saudi-Arabia and Armenia.This starts January 13th, 2003 and ends February 21st, 2003. I have to go and report as well. I have also heard (but that's just heard) that some Arabs had trivial issues with their statuses which could have been adjusted per INS rules and regulations, but they still deported many at their discretion without giving them a chance to adjust their status, and if that has happened, then that definitely is "injustice". I heard of such cases occuring in Minnesota. Wallahu A'lam. Wassalam. |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| UmmWafi |
| 12/22/02 at 20:48:33 |
| [slm] I know a Republican teacher from Alabama who said the INS official statement was that only those with criminal records were detained. The rest were released. What evah. |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| jannah |
| 12/24/02 at 16:38:37 |
| ACLU Calls Immigrant Registration Program Pretext for Mass Detentions December 19, 2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON – In a development that confirms the American Civil Liberties Union’s initial fears about a controversial immigrant fingerprinting and registration program, the Immigration and Naturalization Service is apparently using the program as a pretext for the mass detention of hundreds of Middle Eastern and Muslim men and boys. "Given the evidence, there is no alarmism in saying this is a round-up," said Lucas Guttentag, Director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. "Attorney General Ashcroft is using the immigrant registration program to lock up people who already have provided extensive information as part of their green card applications," he said. "Therefore the purpose is clearly not to get information but rather to selectively arrest, detain and deport Middle Eastern and Muslim men in the United States." According to media reports covering growing protests against the detentions, up to 700 Middle Eastern and Muslim men and boys were arrested in Southern California by federal immigration authorities after they voluntarily complied with a new program that mandates the fingerprinting and registration of all male visitors 16 years and older from certain Middle Eastern countries. It remains unclear how many others have been detained across the country, but reportedly a full one-quarter of all those who complied with the program were arrested in Los Angeles. The men detained are all from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and the Sudan, the five countries whose visitors to the United States were required to register with the INS by December 16. In most cases, it is apparent that the INS arrested men who were simply waiting for approval of their green card applications, or those with minor visa problems caused by incompetence in the agency itself, which has been plagued by an inept bureaucracy for years. In but one example, the San Diego Union Tribune reported on July 27, 2002 that the agency recently failed to process more than 200,000 change of address forms and then unceremoniously dumped them in the largest underground records facility in the world – an abandoned mine near Kansas City – putting hundreds of thousands at risk of wrongful arrest and deportation for failing to report a change of address. The ACLU also questioned the effectiveness of the program, given the enormous outlay of resources necessary to engage in detentions on this scale. "The INS is wasting an incredible amount of government resources in rounding up these men and boys," said Dalia Hashad, the ACLU’s Arab, Muslim and South Asian Advocate. "It seems unlikely that a hardened terrorist is going to voluntarily register with the government," she added. "What is more likely is that law-abiding people who were planning to register will now be afraid to come in because of the arrests, and the INS will use that as an excuse to deport them." By January 10, 2003, citizens of 13 additional countries – Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen – must also submit to registration, a move that could push the detentions into the tens of thousands, the ACLU said. |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| jannah |
| 12/24/02 at 16:39:18 |
| Civil liberties groups file lawsuit over mass INS arrests Write NEWS RELEASE | 12/24/2002 (Washington, D.C.) - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Alliance of Iranian Americans (AIA), Council on American Islamic-Relations (CAIR), and the National Council of Pakistani Americans (NCPA) today announced the filing a class action lawsuit against Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, asserts that the INS unlawfully arrested large numbers of people, December 16th through December 18th in Los Angeles as they came forward to voluntarily comply with new "special registration" requirements. Four of the hundreds of individuals arrested as a result of the new INS policy are co-plaintiffs, along with two others who are afraid to register due to the illegal arrests. The lawsuit takes issue with four aspects of the recent arrests and seeks an immediate injunction to avoid similar detentions during upcoming registrations scheduled for January 10, 2003 (citizens of 13 countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) and February 21, 2003 (citizens of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia): The arrests were illegal because the government did not obtain the necessary arrest warrants; It is unlawful and unjust to arrest and deport people who are eligible to apply to legalize their status based on family relationships or their employment; Some detainees with avenues available to legalize their status are being detained without bail or bail hearings; The fear of mass illegal arrests created by these detentions will obviously inhibit compliance by people facing similar registration deadlines in the near future. The groups are seeking: An injunction ordering the government not arrest any additional persons in the "special registration" process without appropriate arrest warrants as required by existing federal laws; An injunction preventing the deportation of detainees who have avenues available to legalize their status; and An injunction requiring that the INS not hold detainees without bond or bond hearings if the detainee has available a mechanism to legalize their status. Although the special registration policy has been presented as a national security measure designed to counter potential terrorist threats, the INS has been using the registration process to not only enforce immigration law but to arrest and deport people who have complied with the law at every stage and are on the road to becoming permanent residents. The effort to deport law-abiding people who could just as easily be allowed to continue the immigration process seriously undermines prospects for future compliance and constitutes an absurd waste of resources. The mass arrests have further eroded confidence in the fairness of the INS and immigration system among Arab and Muslim communities. Dec. 16 was the first in a series of deadlines for special registration, which are set to culminate in 2004 with the registration of all foreign nationals in the United States. The mass arrests which took place in Los Angeles last week, and the lawsuit filed today, have profound significance for the future of the registration process in many immigrant communities, and immigrants' rights in general. The lead attorneys in the case are Peter A. Schey and Carlos R. Holguin of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Other co-counsel include several attorneys in the ADC Legal Department, Babak Sotoodeh of AIA, Khurrum Wahid of CAIR, Joannie Chang of the Asian Law Caucus, and several California law firms. |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| Ameeraana |
| 12/28/02 at 17:40:41 |
| They are arresting Middle Eastern men at the drop of a hat!! I know of one man here in Colorado who was to graduate 12/14 and only had to take 9 credit hours to do so... so he took his 9 credits and on 12/13 he was arrested when going to register because he was not a full-time student!!!! A UAE man I know told me when he went to register they were arresting people left and right... ahhhh that is so scary!! Then they went to arrest him when they saw he only took 12 credit hours two semesters ago but then he spoke up for himself and was told to return with his final grades and if there are any "F"s he will be deported!! the International student advisors at many of the universities here are telling all the Middle Eastern students to contact them before going to the INS for registration. Pure racial discrimination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ameera |
| Re: Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Ca |
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| bhaloo |
| 12/29/02 at 11:27:10 |
| [slm] US jails 'work shy' foreign students http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,865766,00.html Saturday December 28, 2002 The Guardian At least six Middle Eastern students in Colorado have been detained in the past 10 days for failing to take as many classes as stipulated by their visas. They ran into trouble when they went to register with immigration officials, in keeping with new rules introduced to track foreign students. They were jailed, and not released until they had lodged $5,000 (£3,100) bail, for enrolling in fewer than 12 hours of classes. The immigration and naturalisation service says they were detained because under-enrollment is a violation of their student visas. They are not suspected of any other offences. Chris Johnson, director of international education at the University of Colorado at Denver, said: "We're concerned about the heavy handed nature of the enforcement. "Students are being detained unfairly and callously." One student was jailed last week because he was one hour short of the requirement after receiving college permission to drop a course, Mr Johnson said. Mark Hallett, director of international student services at Colorado State University, said: "I don't believe this is helping us with the war on terrorism. We're alienating people who could be our best friends and ambassadors once they return to their countries." Congress ordered federal registrations by December 16 of males 16 and older carrying temporary visas from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and Sudan. There is a deadline of January 10 for men from the United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Morocco, Afghanistan and nine other countries. Two more rounds of registrations will follow, with the goal of tracking most foreign nationals by 2005. More arrests are therfore expected. |
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