Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif.

Reuters ^ | 12/18/2002 | Jill Serjeant

[John Lenin]

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars.

Shocked and frustrated Islamic and immigrant groups estimate that more than 500 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, neighboring Orange County and San Diego in the past three days under a new nationwide anti-terrorism program. Some unconfirmed reports put the figure as high as 1,000.

The arrests sparked a demonstration by hundreds of Iranians outside a Los Angeles immigration office. The protesters carried banners saying "What's next? Concentration camps?" and "What happened to liberty and justice?."

A spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service said no numbers of people arrested would be made public. A Justice Department (news - web sites) spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The head of the southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) compared the arrests to the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during the Second World War.

"I think it is shocking what is happening. It is reminiscent of what happened in the past with the internment of Japanese Americans. We are getting a lot of telephone calls from people. We are hearing that people went down wanting to cooperate and then they were detained," said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's executive director.

JAILS OVERFLOWING

One activist said local jails were so overcrowded that the immigrants could be sent to Arizona, where they could face weeks or months in prisons awaiting hearings before immigration judges or deportation.

"It is a shock. You don't expect this to happen. It is really putting fright and apprehension in the community. People who come from these countries -- this is what they expect from their government. Not from America," said Sabiha Khan of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

The arrests were part of a post Sept. 11 program that requires all males over 16 from a list of 20 Arab or Middle East countries, who do not have permanent resident status in the United States, to register with U.S. immigration authorities.

Monday was the deadline for men from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan. News of the mass arrests came first in southern California, which is home to more than 600,000 Iranian exiles and their families.

Officials declined to give figures for those arrested or for the numbers of people who turned up to register, be fingerprinted and have their photographs taken.

"We are not releasing any numbers," said Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) spokesman Francisco Arcaute.

CALLS FOR HELP

Islamic groups and the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said they had been swamped with calls for help.

INS spokesman Arcaute said those arrested had violated immigration laws, overstayed their visas, or were wanted for crimes. The program was prompted by concern about the lack of records on tourists, students and other visitors to the United States after the Sept. 11 hijack plane attacks on New York and Washington.

Islamic community leaders said many of the detainees had been living, working and paying taxes in the United States for five or 10 years, and had families here.

"Terrorists most likely wouldn't come to the INS to register. It is really a bad way to go about it. They are being treated as criminals and that really goes against American ideals of fairness, and justice and democracy," Khan said.

The Iranian protesters said many of those detained were victims of official delays in processing visa and green card requests.

"My father, they just took him in," one young man told reporters. "They've been treating him like an animal. They put him in a room with, like, 50 other people and no bed or anything."

Khan said one of those in jail was a doctor, who was being sponsored for U.S. citizenship when his sponsor died.

One Syrian man said he went to register in Orange County with a dozen friends. He was the only one to come out of the INS office. "All my friends are inside right now," M.M. Trapici, 45, told reporters. "I have to visit the family for each one today. Most of them have small kids."

[LaGrone]

Their anger should be directed at the Muslim radicals for causing their trouble. However these people should know that our immigration laws will be enforced now as they always should have been. Good bye forever to the lot of them.

[nwrep]

PLK, in most universities, you only have to be a Permanent Resident (Green Card) in order to be hired as faculty. So citizens of foreign countries can be hired. American Citizenship is not required, but there is a list of countries whose citizens cannot be hired. At last check, these included Iraq, Libya, N. Korea, Cuba, Afghanistan, and Sudan. Jordan is not on that list.

[John Lenin]

Notice the title " Rounded Up ". It gives you the vision of swat teams surrounding their houses. These people came in on their own volition and I'm sure most of them knew their visas were expired. I hate the liberal media.

[templar]

...go through one day without breaking some law that is on the books somewhere.

I doubt that there are many people much past the age of 30 that haven't done something that could have resulted in a felony conviction if the governemnt had wanted it so. But, that doesn't excuse ignoring our immingration laws by those who wish to come here and live among us. Particularly not for those who know they are from sensitive parts of the globe.

[judgeandjury]

"I think it is shocking what is happening. It is reminiscent of what happened in the past with the internment of Japanese Americans"...said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's executive director.

Hey Ramona, you forgot to make references to Hitler and Nazi Germany for the additional media effect.

[Dec31,1999]

Couldn't have happened to nicer people! I'm so sad.

[b4its2late]

Only hundreds? S/B thousands.....

[Dec31,1999]

I would suggest that you tell any interviewer, in your probable series of interviews, what you sense they want to hear. Schmooze to the best of your abilities. Go overboard without losing your credibility in the interview, so as to come out above your competition. Connect personally with them and be empathic.

Get in there.

We need conservatives at universities. And if you're going for a tenure track position, keep your mouth shut and play the party line until you achieve tenure.

[PLK]

you only have to be a Permanent Resident (Green Card) in order to be hired as faculty.

Thanks for the post. You seem very knowledgable about this. I have one other question: how does a foreign student in the U.S. on a student visa get a green card? Do you know what the criteria are?

[Frohickey]

"Terrorists most likely wouldn't come to the INS to register. It is really a bad way to go about it. They are being treated as criminals and that really goes against American ideals of fairness, and justice and democracy," Khan said.

I bet that Khan now knows what it feels like to be a gun owner having to go and register their firearms to the state.

[skeeter]

Honestly, I think Ashcroft's bulb is on the same circuit with Lott's.

Yeah, right. Everyone you disagree with is just like Lott.

I expect we'll be hearing this all-purpose jab alot more in the near future.

[ladysusan]

Oh, boo hoo hoo. And on the night their "documentary" about What's-His-Name ran on PBS, too.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Most won't be deported because the Office of Immigration Review (Democrat lawyers in power) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (more Democrat lawyers in power) will ensure that all but a few of the detainees will be released back into the population. This has been standard procedure for too long. Tell your Congressional reps that these boards need to be abolished so the INS can do their jobs without knowing their efforts are doomed to sabotage.
Better yet, we should deport the OIR and BIA slime to the terrorist-loving countries they facilitate (fellate? What's the difference when you're a money-grubbing traitor?).

[teletech]

If these folks broke the law, and it appears they did, then they should be deported and RIGHT NOW!

[fogarty]

There's a lot more of them out there, too.

[tinamina]

Where can we go on the net to let the INS know WE APPROVE?Wouldn't it be nice if they got some support for taking a giant step in protecting us?

[Porterville]

God, it is about time.

[Lilly]

How do you spell relief?
*
*
*
D-E-P-O-R-T-A-T-I-O-N!!!

[Travis McGee]

News of the mass arrests came first in southern California, which is home to more than 600,000 Iranian exiles and their families.

This fact scares the crap out of me.

[John Lenin]

There are lots of Iranians in Orange County.