Posted on 09/14/2001 11:55:07 PM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON (AP) - As investigators look for clues and suspects in the nation's worst terrorist attacks, some legal experts worry they might stop people for questioning simply because they look Arab or Muslim.
"I'm very worried about what's going to be done in the name of security," Kevin Johnson, a racial profiling and immigration expert at the University of California at Davis Law School, said Friday.
Johnson said he expects "blunt stereotyping and shaking down" of people who appear Middle Eastern even though "it's blatantly illegal."
About a dozen travelers of Middle Eastern descent were detained at two New York airports on Thursday, only to be cleared later of any connection with this week's terrorist attacks.
It is illegal for law officers to target someone based on ethnic appearance. Courts have also historically ensured that foreign nationals are guaranteed the same civil rights as U.S. citizens.
Nevertheless, officers are under intense pressure to track down potential conspirators and "they can decide to heck with the due process rights of these people, we might be onto something," said Christine DeConcini, director of advocacy for the Washington-based Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc.
"I'm all in favor of getting leads, but people's civil liberties and civil rights need to be protected. I don't want to hear that they're ransacking house after house," she said.
The Justice Department said a number of people questioned in connection with the plot have been arrested for immigration violations and were in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The INS has 48 hours after an arrest to charge someone with violating immigration rules.
DeConcini, whose group provides lawyers to detained immigrants, said she was told that phone calls were not being allowed out of the INS detention centers, even to lawyers.
Arab-Americans, Muslim and others groups have reported harassment and violence since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Most of that has come from other Americans.
The prime suspect in the plot is Saudi-born Osama bin Laden. Authorities believe there are many accomplices.
President Bush said Thursday that "we must be mindful ... we treat Arab-Americans and Muslims with the respect they deserve."
Kareem Shora, legal adviser to the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington, said the group has not received reports of rights violations by law agencies.
"Mistakes will be made. You can't have a perfect investigation. As far as we know, no intentional mistakes are being made," Shora said. "Everybody understands it's a very special situation. We all have to cope with it."
After the Oklahoma City bombing, innocent people found themselves targeted because they fit a government profile, said Michael A. Scaperlanda, a University of Oklahoma law professor.
"In a time of heightened security, there's always a danger that law officers will go overboard and overreach in their quest to keep us safe," said Scaperlanda. "Police officers generally can find some reason to stop somebody. It is going to take sensitive balancing."
"Mistakes will be made. You can't have a perfect investigation. As far as we know, no intentional mistakes are being made," Shora said. "Everybody understands it's a very special situation. We all have to cope with it."
Wow, a voice of reason? At an anti-discrimination committee? Too bad the other idiots in this article couldn't take the cue...
Goodness me.
Shock! Horror!
What a surprise.
As civilians, on the other hand, we should not foment hatred of Arab-Americans or Muslims. I believe that most Arab- and Muslim-Americans love peace and democracy. President Bush has said that we should treat them with respect. That makes it our patriotic duty, plain and simple.
Yes, the Near Eastern elements among us are warm, wonderful people who have proper relations with their families and are kind to their pets. That is social thinking. Politically there are those among them who are going to kill on a demonstratably large scale. There is no known way to separate the two groups. Mass expulsions are politically necessary. Norwegians, Danes, Englishmen,Scotsmen are not the ones who will 'lose their liberties'. Such expulsions are not nice, warm, fuzzy, tolerant, diverse, egalitarian and all the other twaddle. It is your lives and your property.
I hear much babble about WAR. Well act like war is here. Instead what is demonstrated is a fingering, licking, toying and tampering with a serious thing.
"War is cruelty Sir, there is no way to refine it." William T. Sherman 1864 at the battle of Atlanta.
I agree wholeheartedly. However, that's NOT the point I was making, nor is it what Shora was saying in the article. Here is a member of the Arab-American community saying, basically, LAW-ABIDING Arab-Americans (of which Shora is one) should not throw a fit when they are mistakenly targetted.
I'm saying Shora's response to the possibility of Arab-American ``harrassment'' is very responsible and patriotic. Shora has noted that her ``rights'' may be temporarily suspended, and she's okay with that.
Sheesh, forgive me for trying to find the silver lining in an otherwise disgusting article...
More freedom of judgment?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.