Atrocious

It's not an atrocity, but it's still atrocious. California INS are arresting hundreds of immigrants from Iran and Arab countries. Reuters reports that they "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."

Between 500 and 1,000 people have been detained and are overcrowding local jails. This is both ethically unacceptable and politically suicidal. The INS thinks it's a law unto itself - it's refusing to even release the official number of detainees, and it's not doing what it should be doing: making friends in the Islamic community. Having pro-American immigrants - who are much more likely than Joe Smith to notice suspicious activity among Islamist militants in the US - on good terms with authorities is crucial. Arresting people when they come forward to comply with government regulations is horrible. At the very least they should be given a day or two to say goodbye to their families or something. Associating cooperation with the government with arrest is a terrible message to send people who come from oppressive countries (600,000 Iranian exiles live in California alone) and whose opinions on the nature of the American government are still being formed.

The article explains that "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."

This new muscular attitude of the INS reflects their new role as bully post-9/11. They took their role in allowing the hijackers into the US to heart, and - understandably - want to make sure it never happens again. Good - that's their job. But unless someone is in this country illegally or can be proven in court to be plotting harm, then they must be allowed to walk free. If we have to rely on evidence collected in inadmissable ways to protect America, then I for one would rather see America less protected. The cost of 3,000 lives on September 11 is nothing compared to the cost that will be incurred if the most important of all civil rights - the right to due process under law - is stripped away. All our other rights hinge on our individual protection from the government. Our individual liberty and protection from the government is far too high a price to pay for collective security from small-scale outside attacks.