Detention
More than 1,000 non-citizens were arrested in the wake of 9/11. Under a new policy that took effect on October 28, the Immigration Service gained the right to detain people even after an immigration judge has ordered them released for lack of evidence...continue.
| In late November, on the eve of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue, Attorney General John Ashcroft for the first time provided a list of 641 persons - listed by country of origin, but without names - still being held, of whom 93 had been charged with crimes. The largest number were from Pakistan... continue. |
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| Most, however, were "being held on immigration violations or unrelated crimes from child pornography to credit card fraud that agents came across while pursuing the investigation...continue1and 2". |
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Basima Diab with her 3-year-old daughter, Lama, in their apartment in Stanton, Calif. Her husband, Basem, has been detained since Nov. 7 by immigration officials |
Another issue about treatment of suspects is whether evidence must be disclosed to their lawyers. It was reported that the Justice Department in late October 2001 requested a broad ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit permitting the use of secret evidence in national security cases...continue. In November, the Justice Department developed a list of about 5,000 men ages 18 to 33 who had arrived here on temporary visas in the last two years from countries suspected of links to terrorism. These men were sent letters requesting that they submit to interviews with law enforcement officials, though there was no specific evidence that they had any involvement with terrorist organizations. |
In testimony to the Judiciary Committee in early December 2001, the Attorney General defended these procedures emphatically:
The Department of Justice has sought to prevent terrorism with reason, careful balance and excruciating attention to detail. Some of our critics, I regret to say, have shown less affection for details.
Their bold declaration of so-called facts have quickly dissolved upon inspection into vague conjecture. Charges of kangaroo courts and shredding the Constitution give new meaning to the term "fog of war."
Since lives and liberties depend on clarity, not obfuscation, and upon reason, not hyperbole, let me take this opportunity to be clear. Each action taken by the Department of Justice, as well as the war crimes commissions considered by the president and the Department of Defense, is carefully drawn to target a narrow class of individuals - terrorists. Our legal powers are targeted at terrorists. Our investigation is focused on terrorists. Our prevention strategy targets the terrorist threat.
Since 1983, the United States government has defined terrorists as those who perpetrate premeditated, politically motivated violence against noncombatant targets. My message to America this morning then is this: if you fit this definition of a terrorist, fear the United States, for you will lose your liberty.
We need honest, reasoned debate, and not fear-mongering. To those who pit Americans against immigrants and citizens against non-citizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil.
Our efforts have been crafted carefully to avoid infringing on constitutional rights while saving American lives. We have engaged in a deliberate campaign of arrest and detention of law breakers. All persons being detained have the right to contact their lawyers and their families. Our respect for their privacy and concern for saving lives motivates us not to publicize the names of those detained...continue.
"In mid-2003, a review of these actions by federal authorities was made public by the Inspector General of the Justice Department. The review cited gross errors in the handling of aliens in the months after 9/11, including particularly the failure of government agencies to distinguish between those suspected of terrorism and others who had simply violated immigration law:
The Justice Department's roundup of hundreds of illegal immigrants in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks was plagued with "significant problems" that forced many people with no connection to terrorism to languish in jails in unduly harsh conditions, an internal report released today found ....continue.
To read the full report of the Inspector General, click here.