Posted on 08/26/2006 8:07:24 PM PDT by Mount Athos
The federal government has barred two relatives of a Lodi man convicted of supporting terrorists from returning to the country after a lengthy stay in Pakistan, placing the U.S. citizens in an extraordinary legal limbo.
Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with a crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi cherry packer who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp.
Federal authorities said Friday that the men, both Lodi residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan.
The men and three relatives had been in Pakistan for more than four years and tried to return to the United States on April 21 as a federal jury in Sacramento deliberated Hayat's fate. But they were pulled aside during a layover in Hong Kong and told there was a problem with their passports, said Julia Harumi Mass, their attorney.
The father and son were forced to pay for a flight back to Islamabad because they were on the government's "no-fly" list, Mass said. Muhammad Ismail's wife, teenage daughter and younger son, who were not on the list, continued on to the United States.
Neither Muhammad nor Jaber Ismail holds dual Pakistani citizenship, Mass said.
"We haven't heard about this happening -- U.S. citizens being refused the right to return from abroad without any charges or any basis," said Mass, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
What a surprise.
Too Bad. Bloods thicker than water. And probably patriotism too.
Keep em out of the USofA
GOOD ! ! !
Semper Fi
Make these guys an offer they can't refuse:
"Bring me the head of Osama BinLaden"
Are you people insane? An agent of the executive branch of the federal government, deciding for himself, without a trial, or even an indictment, that US Citizens should be barred from the country? That's OK with you? Maybe these two are dangerous, but that's what we have a court system for. If these two have done something illegal, then they should be indicted and tried. If the government wants to coerce them into talking about any possible criminal activities in which they may have engaged, then this line comes into play : "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself?"
This is an absolutely outrageous overreach on the part of some federal agent, who should have been fired yesterday for this action.
Get ready to be trampled.
""""Are you people insane? An agent of the executive branch of the federal government, deciding for himself, without a trial, or even an indictment, that US Citizens should be barred from the country? That's OK with you? Maybe these two are dangerous, but that's what we have a court system for. If these two have done something illegal, then they should be indicted and tried. If the government wants to coerce them into talking about any possible criminal activities in which they may have engaged, then this line comes into play : "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself?"
This is an absolutely outrageous overreach on the part of some federal agent, who should have been fired yesterday for this action.""""
I agree, some fed barring US citizens from entry into the country is a very dangerous precedent. I can't believe he's doing this on his own. If there's a reason to suspect them of something they should be taken into custody and charged with something; otherwise, this agent whoever he/she is doesn't have a leg to stand on. Given that the admin. has even fined airlines for discriminating against Muslims, I can't believe higher-ups are allowing this to happen. Methinks there's a lot more to this story than is being reported.
Sorry, but natural born citizens can be detained and interviewed when they return from aboard. The degree of questioning depends on where you've been, what you did.
Then there is the small matter that they aren't on US soil.
Try to enter the US sometime while refusing to answer the questions of a customs agent.
We are not talking about detention. We are talking about being denied entry.
Question please
Are you related to any known terrorists ?
Just a question please and I seriously doubt you are however these two were and that makes more than probable cause to disallow re-entry. I am a Natural US Citizen (for generations) and if it is in the best interests of the USA to disallow me entry when I am returning from a foreign/anti american/islamic country
Than SO BE IT
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