lbo-talk-digest V1 #2748

JKSCHW at aol.com JKSCHW at aol.com
Sun Mar 26 14:48:17 PST 2000


No irony.

As for Diallo, he wasn't denied rights as a noncitizen that many American Blacks aren't denied. There is a lot of racism, but that doesn't mean taht there is a special exception in the 14th amendment or Titlve VII for noncitizens.

As for our awful immigration laws, Ia m highly aware of these, but please note what I wrote: you cannot be denied acess to a lawyer to protect the rights you have. Immigrant noncitizerns have a different legal status with respect to remaining in the country than citizens, but even there, not beinga ble to afford a lawyer to protect the derisory rights nonresident aliens have puts them in no different boat than poor citizens.

I will note that there is one exception to the rule that aliens and citizens are pretty much treated equally well or badly by US law that I can think of, there may be others. The Antiterrorsim and Effective Death Penatlyu Act (I believe) provides for secret evidence, i.e., evidence that a defendant cannot confront and rebut, in certain sorts of terrorism cases involving aliens.

In a message dated 00-03-26 15:40:56 EST, you write:

<< 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. >>



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