------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the July 24, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
LA 8: ONE STEP CLOSER TO VICTORY
By Muna Coobtee Los Angeles
The 16-year legal and political struggle of the LA 8 may finally be coming to an end.
Immigration Judge Bruce J. Einhorn issued a July 11 ruling that forces the Justice Department to drop remaining charges against two of the LA 8- -Michel Shehadeh and Khader Hamide--or immediately commence deportation proceedings against them.
Shehadeh, Hamide and six other defendants were arrested in 1987 for their political activities on behalf of the Palestinian people's struggle for justice. The U.S. government never charged the LA 8--seven Palestinians and one Kenyan--with any real crime.
Instead, they were charged with violating the now-repealed McCarran- Walter Act for possessing literature advocating "worldwide communism." Throughout the years the government has openly admitted that if the LA 8 were U.S. citizens they would not have been charged at all.
The draconian McCarran-Walter Act, enacted in 1952, made it a crime and deportable offense for an immigrant or naturalized citizen to engage in activities deemed "subversive" by the government. Used during the McCarthy period as a tool of repression against communists and other political activists, the act was repealed by Congress after a federal court declared it unconstitutional in 1990.
Yet even after the act was repealed, the government continued its campaign of harassment against the LA 8 by pursuing the deportation of Shehadeh and Hamide under "anti-terrorist" laws. U.S. courts, however, repeatedly found no evidence that the LA 8 were involved in criminal or terrorist activities.
In 1999, the LA 8 suffered a major setback. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that immigrants are not entitled to basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution, such as free speech, due process and equal protection. This shocking ruling opened the door for the deportation of immigrants on the basis of their political views.
Despite the indefensible ruling, the LA 8 and the huge people's movement supporting them continued to fight for immigrants' rights, winning significant victories over the next several years.
This latest ruling could put the LA 8 one step closer to victory and deal a resounding blow to the government's bogus case.
No longer can the government endlessly drag out the unwarranted prosecution of the LA 8. It must decide either to prosecute Shehadeh and Hamide based on the unconstitutional McCarran-Walter Act, attempt to bring new charges under the Patriot Act, or drop the case entirely.
Shehadeh, a leading member of the ANSWER coalition and currently on the national steering committee of the Free Palestine Alliance, is optimistic about the recent decision: "This positive development in our case results from the strength of the people's movement to demand justice for Palestine and equal rights for immigrants."
Though the case of the LA 8 may soon be resolved, Shehadeh stresses that the struggle for immigrants' rights is far from over: "After 16 years of fighting, I am just as determined as I was on the first day. We must all stand up to government repression and insist that our fundamental rights are not sacrificed in the name of false national security."
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