lbo-talk-digest V1 #2748

[Elisabeth Vincentelli]

JSK (a lawyer) wrote:
> In 
> the US, noncitizens cannot vote, for example, but they cannot be arbitrarily
> jailed, tortured, shot, discriminated againsi on account of race or gender,
> prevented from contracting,. denied recourse to the courts to protect the
> rights they have, etc.
I hope I'm not taking at face value a message that was intended to be
ironic, but what about the thousands of immigrants stuck in INS jails in
horrendous conditions, waiting for a decision on their status as immigrants?
They often are denied access to lawyers, interpreters, etc. Arbitrary
decisions are made every day by low-level INS clerks who can reject an
entire family on a whim. It seems to me that as non-citizens these people's
rights are denied every single day.

And as far as non-citizens not being "arbitrarily jailed, tortured, shot",
I'm sure poor Amadou Diallo, shot 20 times by police officers here in NY,
and not a citizen, will appreciate the irony.

Elisabeth
(a "resident alien" in the US)