New law barring non-citizens as airport screeners found unconstitutional

AP ^ | 11/15/02 | Gary Gentile

[Rome2000]

Nation: New law barring non-citizens as airport screeners found unconstitutional

Copyright © 2002 AP Online
By GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer   AP Photo/Lucian Read Mark Rosenbaum, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, talks with reporters after a federal judge temporarily blocked a rule saying the government's new airport security screeners must be U.S. citizens, outside the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 15, 2002. LOS ANGELES (November 15, 2002 7:54 p.m. EST) - A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a rule saying the government's new airport security screeners must be U.S. citizens. The portion of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act barring non-citizens from the positions is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Robert Takasugi ruled. Takasugi's preliminary injunction will remain in place until trial in a civil rights lawsuit brought by nine plaintiffs at Los Angeles and San Francisco International Airports. No trial date has been set. The ruling will affect as many as 8,000 airport screeners, most of whom already have lost their jobs, said Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which brought the case. Plaintiffs lawyers said the ruling will apply to airports nationwide and will allow the non-citizen workers to reapply for jobs that became federal positions following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. U.S. Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Shapiro declined to comment on the ruling. She said it was not clear that the injunction would apply nationwide. Mark Rosenbaum, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, compared the government's attempt to fire non-citizens from screening jobs to the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans. "You're classifying a group of non-citizens as inherently dangerous," he said. A Nov. 19 deadline had been set for airports to remove all non-citizens from screening jobs. Rosenbaum noted that the ban did not apply to other airport workers. "From the pilots to the cargo handlers to people who work in the gift shop, there's no citizenship requirement," he said. Congress passed a law last November to federalize all airport screeners. ACLU lawyers also said they hoped the judge's decision would convince Congress to pass an amendment before the Senate that would allow U.S. nationals to hold airport security screening jobs. One of the plaintiffs is from American Samoa, who had been barred from applying as a baggage screener.

[Mo1]

This'll be overturned in a heartbeat.

Not if it is sent to the 9th Circut

[lepton]

Because the government's list of "terrorist organizations" was secret, the judge concluded, ''The defendants are deprived of their liberty based on an unconstitutional designation that they could never challenge.''

Assuming that it was otherwise unknowable, this would be right. No secret laws.

[Frank_2001]

Soon we'll see some decent judges getting appointed to the federal bench, now that the Rats are in the minority and much less likely to block the President's nominees. So don't worry!:) And this judge's ruling will be quickly overturned, I'm sure!

[lepton]

Gee, the old law barring non-citizens or naturalized citizens from the presidency isn't unconstitutional.

That's because it's part of the Constitution...though even if just a law, such bar would not be unconstitutional.

[FreeReign]

Mark Rosenbaum, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, compared the government's attempt to fire non-citizens from screening jobs to the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans.

There is no unalienable right to remain in a job against an employers wishes. Innocent people have an unalienable right not to be put in an interment camp.

[lepton]

Not if it is sent to the 9th Circut

O.K., two heartbeats. There's a ton of precident.

[sweetliberty]

What the h*ll is the matter with these people????? I don't think there is anything in the Constitution that requires national security to be put in the hands of foreigners!

[nightdriver]

"You're classifying a group of non-citizens as inherently dangerous," he said.

That's right, buckwheat!

[jonathonandjennifer]

"You're classifying a group of non-citizens as inherently dangerous," he said.

Which GROUP would that be?"

[TLI]

Another professional victim with an axe to grind.

there is is... the rest of the story....

BLOAT and stay alert, it's coming.  We will have to go "outside the law" ... what ever the hell insane "law" or "rule" is "declared by imperial decree" in order to rid our citizens of this BULLSHIT, AND save this Republic... once again  from the "reasonable restrictions" of COMMUNISTS..

It's coming, just get ready, it's gonna be a gunfight.

[tet68]

That was my thought too, although it's not the law that's secret but the list.

We are entering a dangerous area, a minefield doesn't care
who walks through it.

What will become of a country which is not allowed to require citizenship of it's citizens, which cannot secure
an oath of allegience to it's principles, which cannot
secure it's borders, which cannot have a common language.......can it be said to exist at all?

[FreeReign]

What the h*ll is the matter with these people????? I don't think there is anything in the Constitution that requires national security to be put in the hands of foreigners!

It's a liberal thingy.

[MissBaby]

Tell the judge to take a hike and refuse to hire non-citizens. Let the judge try and force this issue. What's he going to do, insist? Double insist?

[Mo1]

I don't disagree .. but it depends on the courts

There is a reason the Liberals go court shopping in certain states

WHich is a reason why the Rats don't want Bush's Judges to get aprroval

[judicial meanz]

Ok..lets see. its Unconstitutional to appoint US citizens only to these positions.

If I am a foreign terrorist, I can use Affirmative action to get the job now, while reliable American citizens are eliminated from competition on these jobs because we have a commitment to a diverse workplace.

So Usama can get this job before most Americans now.

Good work Judge.... Have a beer and enjoy the thought you did you part to help destroy the America you hate so well.

[Tom Jefferson]

"If they are non-citizens why are they not deported?"

They are legal residents with green cards, but they are not citizens.

[Mo1]

So Usama can get this job before most Americans now.

Seems to look that way

[sweetliberty]

"It's a liberal thingy."

Yeah well, I'm about out of patience with liberals and their "thingies" and their selling the soul of our country to the devil. As far as I'm concerned they are as much an enemy of freedom as bin Laden and Saddam.

[ZULU]

Lets hope the Feds apael this to a higher court. If the Supremes don't strike down this ludicrous decision, the President should simply ignore it as an unwarranted intrusion of the Judiciary into the warpowers function of the Executive.

"Mark Rosenbaum, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, compared the government's attempt to fire non-citizens from screening jobs to the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans."

Mark Rosenbaum and idiots who think like him are public enemies.

[FreeReign]

Yeah well, I'm about out of patience with liberals and their "thingies" and their selling the soul of our country to the devil. As far as I'm concerned they are as much an enemy of freedom as bin Laden and Saddam.

Yeah, well go back-sass somebody who voted for such a politician who put in such a grotesquery of common sense and unalienable rights.