INS Arrests, Deportations Can Continue

A federal judge in Orange County refused Thursday to block additional arrests and deportations of Middle Eastern and Muslim men who show up to be fingerprinted, photographed and questioned by immigration officials.

Because U.S. District Judge Alicemarie Stotler declined to intercede, men who comply with the post-Sept. 11, 2001, registration requirement may continue to be jailed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The implications of her decision will become clearer today, the registration deadline for thousands of immigrants from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The first round of registration ended Dec. 16 and resulted in the arrest and detention of more than 400 men, most of them Iranians living in Southern California.

Civil rights advocates who wanted the judge to step in said they were disappointed by her decision, and believe it could result in a repeat of the mass arrests.

"This means that once again, the registrants are at the mercy of local INS offices and officers," said Hussein Ibish, spokesman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "It's going to be a question of how they conduct themselves, how draconian they want to be."

Jorge Martinez, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said most of the people detained in the first round were "out of status" — which means their visas weren't current — even though many had already submitted applications to the INS to become legal, permanent residents.

"The mere fact that you applied for a benefit or you're eligible to apply for a benefit doesn't guarantee you the right to stay in this country," he said.

Martinez added that none of the "outstanding policies and procedures" implemented during the first round of registration has changed in the second.

The registration requirement applies to men who are at least 16 years old from specified countries. Green-card holders, U.S. citizens, diplomats and people who have been granted political asylum are not required to register.

Martinez released updated statistics Thursday about the men who were arrested and detained, most during the first round. In Los Angeles alone, he said, about 550 people were arrested and detained. Of those, about 20 are still in being held. Across the country, 47 people are still being held.

The deadline for the third round of registration is Feb. 21, and applies to men from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Thursday's emergency hearing in Santa Ana stemmed from a class-action lawsuit filed last month against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the INS.

The coalition of civil rights groups that sued on behalf of the detainees asked the court, in part, to ban future arrests of men without warrants and prohibit deporting detainees who have lawfully applied for green cards.

But according to lead attorney Peter Schey, the judge ruled that the interviews the INS conducts with the registrants eliminate the need for warrants, and that the INS has the discretion to deport people who have pending green card and visa applications.

Schey said he will appeal.