>
>
> Surely, no one thought all that rounding up and
> harrassment we saw following 9-11, directed initially
> against vulnerable groups such as immigrants would
> stay contained to these unfortunates or simply lose
> steam? Paranoia and demands from DOJ for ever more
> leverage are in the air we breathe now.
> DRM
Did anyone see this on activist lists? When we win partial victories, no one cheers. Better to keep up the, "Fascist wolf is at the door, " line.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/22/politics/22REGI.html Special Registration for Arab Immigrants Will Reportedly Stop By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: November 22, 2003
WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 — The Homeland Security Department has decided to stop a program that required thousands of Arab and Muslim men to register with immigration authorities after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials said on Friday.
Hoping to hunt down terrorists, immigration officials fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed 85,000 Muslim and Arab noncitizens from November 2002 to May 2003 under the program. The effort, the largest to register immigrants in decades, required annual reporting. Men from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria began going to immigration offices for a second round of registrations this month.
Officials have acknowledged that most of the Arabs and Muslims who have complied with the requirements had no ties to terrorist groups. Of the 85,000 men who went to immigration offices early this year, as well as tens of thousands screened at airports and border crossings, 11 had links to terrorism, officials said.
The program was sharply criticized by civil liberties groups and advocates for immigrants. The critics said it did little to find terrorists and alienated the very communities that could help uncover terrorists. Advocates for immigrants have also complained that immigration officials have done little to publicize the second round, touching off waves of confusion and anxiety.
Government officials said questions had arisen about the effectiveness of the program. They said an announcement about ending it might be made as early as next week.
A spokesman for the Homeland Security Department, William Strassberger, would not confirm any decisions on program, but acknowledged that it was being reviewed to determine whether it should end. The decision to discontinue the program, known as special registration, was first reported in The Washington Post.
"We're continuing to evaluate the special registration program for its effectiveness and efficiency and whether this is the best use of resources," Mr. Strassberger said.
He said the program might be superseded by an effort in which immigration officials at 115 airports and 14 seaports will begin collecting digital fingerprints and photographs from foreign visitors who enter the United States with visas. That program, which is scheduled to begin in January, is not be specifically directed at Muslims and Arabs, he said.
Advocates for immigrants said they were relieved to hear that the special registration program would end, but said many immigrants remained uncertain about complying with the second round of reporting.
"It's definitely a good sign that homeland security is looking into the matter, but people are still very confused," said Kareem Shora, a legal adviser for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Lucas Guttentag, a senior lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, called the decision an admission of failure.
"The government's plan to terminate special registration for Arab and Muslim immigrants," Mr. Guttentag, head of the Immigrants' Rights Project at the A.C.L.U., said, "is an implicit acknowledgement that this was a failed, discriminatory program."
The government began registrations at airports and border crossings in October 2002, focusing on visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria, as well as other people who seemed suspicious or had unusual itineraries. The special registration program was announced in November. -- Michael Pugliese