-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=21301
Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY Editorial: INS action 21 December 2002 Published on 21 December 2002 It is hard not to sympathize with the hundreds of Muslims living in California who were arrested after they went to register, as newly required by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). These individuals � estimated by immigration lawyers to be between 1,000 and 2,500 � obeyed the summons and were carted off to prison as a result. The American Civil Liberties Union has likened the INS behavior to the wartime incarceration of all ethnic Japanese. There have been understandable complaints that these measures are part of a wider targeting of Muslims living in the US, even those who have long been naturalized and are loyal US citizens. California Democratic Congresswoman Jan Harmon has called the action �legal entrapment�. The southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and eight other groups including the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Progressive Jewish Alliance have demanded that the scheme be scrapped, or deadlines extended. However, it is important to inject a little perspective into what has happened. There certainly is a wave of anti-Middle East and anti-Muslim sentiment in America. But to put down every action that causes trouble to them to ethnic hate is to refuse to see the reality. Such refusal would mean a refusal to look at the reasons that contributed to the present situation. The majority of those detained by the INS are suspected of being in violation of visa rules. California is packed with people from all over the world and of every religion, who have overstayed tourist visas and are working illegally. It is the misfortune of citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria that they are from the first Muslim states to be required to register. If, upon showing up at an INS office, a Muslim visitor is found to be in violation of his visa, then what are the authorities supposed to do? All states have immigration rules. Those who choose to disobey them must anticipate that if they are caught, they can expect punishment. Many of those who checked in with the INS last week knew they were illegals but probably hoped that there would be some provision, some official bending of the rules that would allow them to stay. As it turned out, there was no such thing. However, the US authorities can be faulted for the manner in which they set about this exercise. The INS is very well-informed on the tens of thousands of foreigners who exist in the shadows of the Californian economy without proper papers. Indeed, it has been speculated that this body of �illegals�, generally working for the lowest wages, performs an important economic role. They must have known that the registration process would throw up hundreds of visa violations. They could therefore have made provisions for the violators to be treated with more dignity and humanity. Lawyers say that they are being shuttled round centers in prison buses, shackled and in handcuffs, as the system creaks under the strain. There are reports that men were forced to sleep standing up, or on concrete floors with no blankets. Some had been hosed down with cold water. At the very least, the behavior of the INS is going to cause illegals from other countries to think twice when it is their turn to report for registration. The authorities may therefore have defeated the very objective they were seeking to pursue. Copyright � 2002 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
