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Editor's Comments
Results In For FBI Interviews
According to reports by UPI
and Fox News, an FBI taskforce has
concluded about 10,000 to 11,000 interviews with people of Iraqi origin in
the US. The goals of the FBI task force were threefold: "to identify threats both at home and abroad from Iraqis within the
United States from the interview process; to expel or arrest all known
Iraqi intelligence officials in the United States, including those with
diplomatic status; and to deal with counter-terrorism threats that may have
increased during Operation Iraqi Freedom ... The interviews instead
produced important information for U.S. forces, including locations of
Iraqi bunkers, tunnel systems, manufacturing plants and military
installations [(about 250 reports to the US military)]. (Fox News)" Also, "no known terrorists or Iraqi spies were discovered in the interviews (Fox News)" - no surprise there for readers of Immigration Daily.
"[S]everal dozen were detained for visa violations" and "[Attorney General] Ashcroft said that - in addition to gathering
intelligence - the interviews were aimed at 'identify(ing) backlash threats
to Iraqis in the United States.' He said that every interviewee had been
reminded that discrimination and harassment was unlawful and that 36 new
cases had been opened by Justice Department civil rights lawyers as a
result of information received from interviewees. (UPI)" So, apart from producing
some information of limited value to our military effort, thousands of
interviews "conducted by hundreds of FBI agents" resulted in what? A few
dozen visa violations and a few dozen civil rights violations? We doubt if
senior management at the FBI will view that as a productive use of
resources to be repeated in the future. There is also something hidden here
in the numbers - about 10,000 interviews apparently produced only a few
dozen visa violators - a result likely impossible, unless the FBI
interviewers looked the other way for technical visa violations. If that
was the case, and it appears from the numbers that it was, we commend the
FBI for heeding the call of common sense and focusing on the anti-terrorist
mission without setting off on a wild-goose chase for undocumented Iraqi
dishwashers. The anti-immigrationists may view hounding the undocumented as
a good use of our nation's resources, but we, and apparently the FBI too,
do not share that view. On a related point, we have noted before that the
victims of the new governmental powers will likely be on the extreme
right - and sure enough, the Fox report concludes with "concerns about
other forms of terror, including those from anti-government and right-wing
extremists."
ILW.COM Focus
Curriculum
For Labor Cert Phone Seminar
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- Labor certifications for IT jobs: Myth or Reality?
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layoffs in the industry or by the sponsoring employer
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Featured Article
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Susan K. Wehrer and Angelo A. Paparelli write "Once the new venture is sufficiently off the ground, the next step is finding an appropriate nonimmigrant visa classification for the founder or other prospective key employees."
Race, Nationality, and Reality: INS Administration of Racial Provisions in US Immigration and Nationality Law Since 1898, Part 1 of 8
Marian L. Smith writes "The history of US immigration and nationality law demonstrates how race became a factor in determining who could come to America and who could not."
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Immigration Law News
Congressional Testimony On DHS's Immigration Interior Enforcement Strategy
Several individuals testified before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives on BICE's interior enforcement strategy: General Accounting Office, Director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, Rich Stana; Undersecretary Border and Transportation Security Hutchinson; Executive Director
Center for Immigration Studies, Mark Krikorian; and Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), Timothy Danahey.
2nd Circuit Vacates BIA's Dismissal Of Petitioner's Forced Sterilization Claim
In Qiu v. Ashcroft, No. 00-4264 (2nd Cir. Apr. 16, 2003), the court said that both "the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) had no leeway to deny Petitioner's application based on China's coercive program of population control without first (a) pointing to specific pieces of missing, relevant documentation, and (b) showing that this documentation was reasonably available to Petitioner."
558 Qualify Under Convention Against Torture, Lowest Acceptance Rate Since Convention Against Torture Adopted
The Bucks County Courier Times reports "Last year, immigration judges rejected a record 16,744 claims by foreigners who said they would be tortured if forced to return to their home countries, according to the Executive Office of Immigration Review, part of the Department of Justice."
FBI Wraps Up Interviews With 10,000 Iraqis Living In US
United Press International reports "Jean Abinader, of the Arab-American Institute, a Washington-based research organization, said that his group was aware of at least 100 complaints [related to FBI intelligence interviews], mainly concerning people being told they could not bring a lawyer, or being asked about their visa status, but pointed out that this number was still a very small proportion of the 10,000 interviews."
Reality Of Visa Eligibility Has Only Changed Slightly Since 9/11
The DOS International Information Programs reports "Secure borders" and "open doors", two goals of US visa policy, are not mutually exclusive, according to Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs at the Department of State."
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Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
Since the publication of my article, "Group 4 Special Registration
Deadline And Other Developments Since The War", a
BICE official informed me on April 16, 2003 that an individual subject
to Group 4 call-in Special Registration does not have to register under
that Group's extended deadline if he departs the US prior to April 25,
2003. This was not reflected in the Federal Register notice that
extended the Group 4 deadline to April 25, as pointed out in the
article, but it is in a notice on the BCIS website, subjecting citizens or nationals of Group 4 countries to registration if
they "will remain in the United States at least until April 25, 2003."It
is still not clear whether persons who depart on April 25 must register.
Cyrus Mehta
Dear Editor:
The substantive issues, statistics and questions raised in Ali
Alexander's letter of 4/17 are not diminished by the peripheral
responses of his three critics of 3/18. In particular, attempts to confine the immigration debate only to
those in the profession and to favored topics is obtuse and snobbish.
Immigration is not the
sole province of attorneys or immigrants, but has a profound and
irrevocable effect upon all of us. It would appear that most mass
immigration advocates have no room for compromise and prefer no limits
and little opposition. Many others reasonably believe that limits and
tight controls must apply for a "cohesive" society. There is a great
amount of opinion supporting the latter position which may be ignored in
your own minds and/or group, but not in reality. To remain oblivious to the many obvious and negative aspects of the
excessive and illegal immigration phenomenon we have experienced for too
long is to be in severe denial or worse. It is limited and controlled
immigration that has the potential of being beneficial, not the massive,
uncontrolled and illegal variety.
R. L. Ranger
Dear Editor:
Ali Alexander's "facts" and argument regarding taxes paid by the immigrant population in the US simplistically rationalizes his belief without sufficient analysis of real facts. Mr. Ali before analysis clearly holds the opinion that aliens don't pay enough in taxes when measured against their raw numbers, which are questioned by Mr. Ali to begin with. And in bold brush strokes he concludes that if the total amount of tax and numbers of aliens so paying is less proportionally than the "US population", that means aliens are not pulling their own weight.
This picture, while just facially logical removes the grays from the picture. If we know anything about complex issues like immigration and tax, it's that there's an awful lot of gray.
Alice M. Yardum-Hunter
An Important disclaimer! The information provided on this page is not legal advice.
Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers must not act upon any information without first seeking advice from a
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