Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif.
Wed Dec 18, 8:47 PM ET  Add Top Stories -  


By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars.

 

Shocked and frustrated Islamic and immigrant groups estimate that more than 500 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, neighboring Orange County and San Diego in the past three days under a new nationwide anti-terrorism program. Some unconfirmed reports put the figure as high as 1,000.


The arrests sparked a demonstration by hundreds of Iranians outside a Los Angeles immigration office. The protesters carried banners saying "What's next? Concentration camps?" and "What happened to liberty and justice?."


A spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service said no numbers of people arrested would be made public. A Justice Department (news - web sites) spokesman could not be reached for comment.


The head of the southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites) compared the arrests to the internment of Japanese Americans in camps during the Second World War.


"I think it is shocking what is happening. It is reminiscent of what happened in the past with the internment of Japanese Americans. We are getting a lot of telephone calls from people. We are hearing that people went down wanting to cooperate and then they were detained," said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's executive director.


JAILS OVERFLOWING


One activist said local jails were so overcrowded that the immigrants could be sent to Arizona, where they could face weeks or months in prisons awaiting hearings before immigration judges or deportation.


"It is a shock. You don't expect this to happen. It is really putting fright and apprehension in the community. People who come from these countries -- this is what they expect from their government. Not from America," said Sabiha Khan of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.


The arrests were part of a post Sept. 11 program that requires all males over 16 from a list of 20 Arab or Middle East countries, who do not have permanent resident status in the United States, to register with U.S. immigration authorities.


Monday was the deadline for men from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan. News of the mass arrests came first in southern California, which is home to more than 600,000 Iranian exiles and their families.


Officials declined to give figures for those arrested or for the numbers of people who turned up to register, be fingerprinted and have their photographs taken.


"We are not releasing any numbers," said Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) spokesman Francisco Arcaute.


CALLS FOR HELP


Islamic groups and the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said they had been swamped with calls for help.


INS spokesman Arcaute said those arrested had violated immigration laws, overstayed their visas, or were wanted for crimes. The program was prompted by concern about the lack of records on tourists, students and other visitors to the United States after the Sept. 11 hijack plane attacks on New York and Washington.


Islamic community leaders said many of the detainees had been living, working and paying taxes in the United States for five or 10 years, and had families here.


"Terrorists most likely wouldn't come to the INS to register. It is really a bad way to go about it. They are being treated as criminals and that really goes against American ideals of fairness, and justice and democracy," Khan said.

The Iranian protesters said many of those detained were victims of official delays in processing visa and green card requests.

"My father, they just took him in," one young man told reporters. "They've been treating him like an animal. They put him in a room with, like, 50 other people and no bed or anything."

Khan said one of those in jail was a doctor, who was being sponsored for U.S. citizenship when his sponsor died.

One Syrian man said he went to register in Orange County with a dozen friends. He was the only one to come out of the INS office. "All my friends are inside right now," M.M. Trapici, 45, told reporters. "I have to visit the family for each one today. Most of them have small kids."

In Arizona jails they serve PORK!!!

Funny, it's not at all similar to what happened to Japanese Americans during WWII. They were citizens, well a lot of them were anyway, and they were still treated like aliens.

These are illegal aliens right?  Or did I miss something?

Illegal = bad = go to jail or back to home country....

Must be the language barrier, right? [rolleyes]

Come here on the up and up and you won't have these issues.

Ed

It was a bit unclear as to what their alien status is.  Obviously, some of these people are illegals, but there is more than meets the eye to this.

Besides, it's a waste of time and money.  What terrorist is going to go register himself with INS?  More dumbass window dressing to make us feel safer.

not to argue the point here but...

the people that were arrested TURNED THEMSELVES IN  (would you do that if you were a terrorist?)

What kind of illegal that is trying to cause trouble is going to turn themselves in?

It's the same as the guns/criminals thing...

The terrorists need to be caught at the borders (I don't know how, but someone else might)...

If we have learned anything perhaps we have learn how to flip these people to gain info.

And never underestiminate the stupidity of criminals!

Do you really think that the people who turned themselves in have any information about terrorism?

Maybe...maybe not, don't care...if they're here illegally then they are criminals and are not above the law.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Its about f*cking time this started.

YUP,,,and they might not even realize it...

What?

This is why we will lose the "War on Terrorism".  We are chasing our tails.  Sheer stupidity, just like the PC bullshit we call airport security.  But now you think it's okay because they're getting those dirty ragheads.

I hear the bleating now.

We still have not patched the holes that allowed this to happen in the first place.  Airline cargo still not screened.  Individuals on watch lists still not deported.  Operation TIPS.

Hey, I know what we'll do!  We'll ask them to come to us!  That's genius!

And by the way, the article says nothing about these people being "illegals".  They asked those who do not have [b]permanent resident status[/b] to come forward.  Not having such status does not make you an illegal.

GOOD

I don't give a crap if they are terrorists or not, hopefully this will mean 500 less Muslim Immigrants in this country!

Where is Legs when you need him?

Maybe we should torture them for info. [rolleyes]

or not...and let them kill your wife while you're being OH SO PC!

How about the rocket scientist who rented a truck to use as a bomb and was arrested when he went to the rental agency to get his deposit back.

Hell, lets arrest and torture every muslim in the country then. Who knows waht info they may have.

I applaud the arrest of illegals. ANY illegals. Not just Muslims or others of middle eastern origin, but ALL illegal immigrants. And those arrested, no matter where they're from, should be deported as soon as possible after a little investigation into who they are and why they are here. Even if they are from Sweden.
If you want to come to this country to live, do it the right way or expect to be arrested and deported.

Of course, this would require sealing the borders. Again I say GO FOR IT.

I have some concerns about what's going on, but it appears to me that they may well be simply culling out those in the bunch who are indeed "illegal" in one way or another. The article doesn't give enough information for an informed opinion to be formed.

Nailed it!

And the illegal MEXICANS run rampant with ZERO chance of being rounded up.  

On a sheer dollar cost basis, they do many hundreds of times the damages that the Islamo-fascists have done, and on a daily basis.  

Why aren't we rounding them (and all other illegals up?)  

More B.S. from our divine protectors.