by David Cole
"What will they do to us if there is another attack? Will they intern us
like they interned the Japanese?"
That is the most common question I get when speaking about counterterrorism
policies and civil liberties to Arab and Muslim audiences. Until Wednesday,
I assured them that such a response was unthinkable. The Japanese internment
during World War II is so widely recognized as morally, legally and
ethically wrong, I told them, that it could not possibly be repeated.
But after a decision by a federal judge in New York, I'm no longer confident
that I can be so reassuring. Dismissing a case challenging the detention of
Arab and Muslim foreign nationals in the weeks after Sept. 11, U.S. District
Judge John Gleeson ruled that it is constitutionally permissible to round up
foreign nationals on immigration charges based solely on their race,
religion or country of origin. What's more, he said they can be detained
indefinitely, even after they have agreed to be removed to their home
countries.
In essence, he authorized a repeat of the Japanese internment -- as long as
the internment is limited to foreign nationals charged with visa violations
(a group that at last count numbered about 11 million people).
The case, Turkmen vs. Ashcroft, was filed on behalf of Arab and Muslim
foreign nationals swept up on the pretext of immigration charges in the
weeks after Sept. 11. Many initially were arrested on no charges at all --
only to be served with immigration papers days, weeks or sometimes months
later. All were arrested in secret and hundreds were tried in closed
hearings that even their family members were not allowed to attend. . . .
FULL TEXT
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DAVID COLE, a law professor at Georgetown University and a volunteer
attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, was co-counsel to the
plaintiffs in Turkmen vs. Ashcroft. He wrote this article for the Los
Angeles Times.
Joe W. (Chip) Pitts III, "Tough Patriot
Act Followed by 40 Nations," Washington Post, September 14, 2003
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authorize torture, but they won't prevent it, either," Washington
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[Congress passed a tyrannical law that will be ranked with the low
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Cliff," New York Times, September 28, 2006]
R. Jeffrey Smith, "Many Rights in U.S. Legal System Absent in New
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Locked Up From 9/11 Sweeps," Associated Press, October 14, 2006
Scott Horton, "Pulitzer
Prize-winning Photojournalist Completes One Year in U.S. Military Custody in
Iraq," Harper's Magazine, April 12, 2007
