INS Arrests Inconsistent, Show Lack Of D.C. Leadership

by William O. Beeman

The immigrants had appeared voluntarily at INS offices throughout the nation. Approximately 3,000 temporary visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria were required to appear by Dec. 16 to register, be photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed by INS officials, to comply with provisions of the USA Patriot Act. Many had already applied for permanent resident status, and in processing their paperwork the INS was months -- sometimes years -- behind.

For the vast number of those reporting, their residence in the United State's was completely legal. Nevertheless, hundreds were immediately arrested -- by some estimates, 500 in Southern California alone.

The government's disregard for basic civil and legal rights on Dec. 16 and the days following was blatant. One group of men from San Francisco was moved to Oakland, Arizona, Denver, Kentucky, back to Oakland, then to Bakersfield, Calif., and finally to a private detention facility in Otay Mesa outside of San Diego.

Payam Mohseni, president of the Berkeley-based organization Students for Progress and Development in Iran, traveled to Otay Mesa. After waiting for hours, Mohseni was allowed to interview some of the detainees. He reported that they were deprived of sleep and were sick and near the breaking point emotionally. Mohseni pointed out that all should be legally entitled to call a lawyer and their families, and receive basic medical care.

"None of these basic rights were given to them, with the explanation that since they were 'in transit,' they would not receive them," Mohseni said. "The ill detainees were not treated by a doctor and did not receive medication, either."

Were it not for the persistence of several dedicated California immigration lawyers, the men would probably still be in detention.

Banafsheh Akhlaghi, a San Francisco attorney and professor of constitutional law representing detainees, says she's not surprised by the violations of due process and procedure. Akhlaghi contends that INS officials have no idea how to interpret Patriot Act regulations. Procedures for handling immigrants reporting under the new rules have varied enormously from station to station.

Worst of all, Akhlaghi said, the INS gave inadequate notification to those required to report, resulting in a rush to register on the deadline day. Confusion was so great that women showed up to register, even though they were not required to do so.

"One of my clients had been approved for permanent residency -- a process that can take 10 or 12 years -- and was awaiting his final interview in a few days," Akhlaghi says. "Despite the fact that all his papers were in order, he was declared out of status and arrested."

Before the INS released most detainees on bond, the arrests touched off protests throughout California. Several organizations have sought court injunctions against further implementation of the registration procedures.

Ironies and inconsistencies abound. Ten of the detainees were Iranian Jews who had traveled to the United States via Israel to escape persecution -- including arbitrary incarceration -- in their own country. Government officials claimed that the number of detainees was "miniscule" at one point, and then explained that the cross-country odyssey of the San Francisco detainees was due to lack of space.

Despite the fact that the Dec. 16 deadline has passed, immigration attorneys say men are still coming in to register and are being immediately arrested for reporting late. Yet INS regulations state that individuals should only be detained if they willfully refuse to comply with the reporting requirement.

Akhlaghi and others are worried about the coming months. "Persons from 10 other nations are supposed to report by Jan. 10, and the INS is no better informed or organized for that onslaught," she says.

Whatever the outcome, the December detentions offend American values of fair play and justice and further destroy U.S. credibility among those whom we will desperately need in any of our future dealings in the Middle East. Now, one report on the recent arrests in the Middle East press refers to the U.S. Attorney General as "Ayatollah Ashcroft," a pointed parallel to human rights abuses in Iran.

On Dec. 20, President Bush broadcast a message to Iran over the new American Radio Service, Radio Farda (Tomorrow), which is designed to project a positive American image to the Middle East. "We continue to stand with the people of Iran in your quest for freedom, prosperity, honest and effective government, judicial due process and the rule of law," Bush said.

Coming just four days after the INS arrests, it's doubtful that many Middle Eastern listeners found his words credible.