Posted on 12/17/2001 11:32:09 AM PST by Moleman
DETROIT -- A Muslim community leader who is on the board of trustees of an international group that was raided by federal agents last week has been detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, his attorney said Monday.
Rabih Haddad, 41, was detained by the INS on Friday and was being held on a visa violation, said attorney Ashraf Nubani. INS officials said Monday that they could not confirm or deny that Haddad was being held and said it was unlikely any information would be released on the case. The FBI referred all questions to INS.
Nubani said INS officials told him Haddad would be held without bond or a detention hearing. He said those who pose a danger to the community or are considered a flight risk generally are denied bond or a detention hearing, but he said Haddad falls into neither category.
Haddad, a native of Lebanon now living in Ann Arbor, is on the board of trustees of the Global Relief Foundation, a Bridgeview, Ill.-based group whose offices were raided on Friday.
No arrests were made there. Two Global Relief Foundation offices in Yugoslavia also were searched Friday by NATO-led peacekeepers and U.N. police. A NATO spokesman said three people were detained there but gave no details.
The group's assets have been frozen. U.S. Treasury Department spokesman Tony Fratto said early Saturday that "there was coordinated action to block the assets because the groups are suspected of funding terrorist activities."
Messages left with the Global Relief Foundation on Monday were not immediately returned.
Nubani said Haddad's detention came now because of the political climate following Sept. 11.
"If he had any (immigration) issue he would have been picked up long ago," Nubani said.
Nubani said Haddad came to the United States in 1998 on a tourist visa that has since expired. But he said Haddad applied for permanent residency through a provision of the Lise Act passed by President Clinton in 2000.
Michael Steinberg, legal director of the ACLU of Michigan, called Haddad "a beloved person in the Ann Arbor community," who has a wife and four children here.
"In my view the federal agents are destroying any trust that exists between the law enforcement and the Arab community," Steinberg said. "It's counterproductive for the federal government to seek assistance from the Muslim community on one hand and then arrest their leaders on the other."
Michigan is home to about 350,000 Arab-Americans. The Justice Department sent letters to hundreds of southeastern Michigan men, mostly from the Middle East, seeking to interview them in the terrorism investigation. Officials have sought help from local Arab leaders in the interview process.
And who says Arab Muslims have no sense of humor?
This is the funniest statement I have heard in years.
Yeah, right. He couldn't possibly be here illegally, because he was not arrested until they started checking his immigration status. We all know that the INS never misses anyone.
9/11 not withstanding.
This in this article says it all for me, "Nubani said Haddad came to the United States in 1998 on a tourist visa that has since expired. But he said Haddad applied for permanent residency through a provision of the Lise Act passed by President Clinton in 2000.,"
Now Haddad and his fellow illegals need to catch the next plane for Portland, Oregone if INS releases him. His buddies had better head to Portland, Oregone, too!
Rabih Haddad holds a Masters of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1992, he co-founded Global Relief Foundation, a humanitarian organization. He has served as chairman of GRF's board since 92, and as its CEO between 92 to 96. He currently serves as GRF's public relations director and also fundraises extensively for its projects. He in addition lectures and writes, mostly on topics related to relief work and the Islamic faith. For more information on the Global Relief Foundation please visit www.grf.org
Wasn't it President Reagan who said "trust AND verify?" With our Arab/Muslim visitors and neighbors, we are FORCED by the acts of their countrymen, to verify FIRST, BEFORE trust.
So if they are unhappy, the targets of the unhappiness SHOULD be the countrymen and co-religionists, who put them into this situation. Our FBI, INS, should be trained to say "...don't blame me, blame radical Islam, blame bin Laden, blame mullah Omar, blame any Arab or Muslim terrorist you want, but don't blame the US. The US is into the justified, self-defence phase.
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