These days, says Pakistani citizen Mohammad Farooqi, getting arrested on a visa violation is "like a death sentence" for foreign visitors.
Farooqi, a 30-year-old electrical engineer, said that he came close to being jailed when he tried to comply with new rules that require him to register with immigration authorities.
"They wanted to arrest me on the grounds that I was out of status," he said Friday at a Bloomington forum that examined the special registration that is required of male temporary workers, students and other visitors. Friday was the registration deadline for visitors from 13 mostly Middle Eastern countries.
Since September, men who are visiting from countries selected by the Justice Department have been registered on arrival in airports so that the government can ensure that they leave when their visas expire. They and visitors already in the United States must report in person to their local Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) office.
Farooqi, who came to Minnesota on a student visa and later received a work visa, said he went to the INS office in Bloomington on Dec. 31 to register — nine days after he was laid off from his job. He said an INS employee informed him that since he no longer was employed, he was "out of status."
But Farooqi proved them wrong, he said, because he pointed out that immigration laws allowed him 10 days to leave the country after losing a job. The next day, he left the United States and returned last week on a visitor's visa linked to his wife's work visa as a physician.
The whole experience left a bad taste in his mouth, said Farooqi, who lives in Little Canada. "They have singled out a group of people — who are otherwise law-abiding citizens — because of the actions of a few on September 11."
He was one of several visitors and immigrants from a mix of affected countries who expressed frustration and anger during the forum at the Muslim Community Center. Some men said they felt unfairly targeted by various laws that the government has enacted since Sept. 11 in the name of national security.
Minneapolis attorney Julie Zimmer told the crowd of about 60 that she empathized, saying that there are people across the nation working to repeal the registration requirement. "I don't think it's necessarily an effective way to root out terrorism."
She said those who must register should avoid exposing themselves to detention at the local INS office by bringing only required documents such as identification and immigration papers. And she urged those who have overstayed their visas to register promptly, even at the risk of being arrested, to avoid permanently damaging their chances of staying.
Those who don't leave the country when they are supposed to should seek legal advice, be prepared to surrender to the INS and be ready to post bail, she said.
INS spokesman Tim Counts said that no one has been detained for more than a few hours at the Bloomington office since the first phase of the registration process began Nov. 15 for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria. He said there has been a steady stream of people reporting to register, but he wouldn't divulge exact numbers on orders from Washington.
Ahmad Nuori, 29, who is from Algeria and came to Wisconsin on a visitor's visa, said that people who come from countries on the registration list shouldn't be equated to terrorists. "If the government wants to attack terrorists, that's fine. But it doesn't mean that all undocumented people are terrorists."
The Justice Department identified the 18 countries in the first and second round and an additional two as having some links to terrorism. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will be added on Monday; men from those countries will have a registration deadline of Feb. 21.
Tariq Bashir, a banker who immigrated to Minnesota from Pakistan, said there must be better ways to identify terrorists. "Terrorists would never go themselves and register and get fingerprinted," he said, adding that the people and government of Pakistan are outraged that Pakistanis living in the United States are required to register.
The Associated Press reported Friday that the Pakistani government has asked the United States to reconsider. Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri made the request in a conversation with Secretary of State Colin Powell. Kasuri said Pakistanis should be given special treatment because their country has become a key ally in the war on terrorism.
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