Arab-American Associations Urge Support to 3 Congressmen lawsuit filed against the US government
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), has called for supporting a motion by three American congressmen against unlawful arrests of large numbers of people, especially in Los Angeles, as they came forward to voluntarily comply with new "special registration" requirements.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Peter A. Schey and Carlos R. Holguin of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Other co-counsel include several attorneys in the ADC Legal Department, Babak Sotoodeh of AIA, Khurrum Wahid of CAIR, Joannie Chang of the Asian Law Caucus, and several California law firms.
The Alliance of Iranian Americans (AIA), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the National Council of Pakistani Americans (NCPA) filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against John Ashcroft; Attorney General of the United States, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
The lawsuit’s essence is that the detentions were illegal because the government did not obtain the necessary arrest warrants, it is unlawful and unjust to deport people who have been slated for adjustment of status and who have complied with the law at every stage, detainees are being held without bail or bond, and are subject to deportation without due process and the fear of mass arrests created by these detentions will inhibit compliance by people facing similar registration deadlines in the near future.
The associations are seeking an injunction ordering the government not to arrest any additional persons in the "special registration" process without appropriate warrants from federal judges. They also want an order preventing the deportation of detainees without due process. ADC stressed that although the special registration policy has been presented as a national security measure designed to counter potential terrorist threats, the INS has been using the registration process to not only enforce immigration law but to arrest and deport people who have complied with the law at every stage and are on the road to becoming permanent residents.
The effort to deport law-abiding people who could just as easily be allowed to continue the immigration process seriously undermines prospects for future compliance and constitutes an absurd waste of resources, says the association adding that mass arrests have further eroded confidence in the fairness of the INS and immigration system among Arab and Muslim communities.