http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14830

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Follow the Rules, Go Directly to Jail

By Ali Moayedian, AlterNet December 20, 2002

The news is pouring in. Hundreds of select foreign nationals
who have complied with the new INS regulations and reported
for registration and fingerprinting to INS offices have been
promptly arrested and placed in detention. While some have
been released on bails of $1,000 to $15,000, the fate of
many others is unclear. Even the number of arrested is a big
question mark. By some estimates, there has been over 700
arrests in Los Angeles area alone. But INS is refusing to
report the number of detainees, and most families are
keeping quiet about the arrest of their loved ones, fearing
reprisals if they speak up.

I spoke to one detainee in Los Angeles area who had
witnessed many people in handcuffs and shackles, including a
70-year-old man. There are many horror stories going around,
and unfortunately most seem to be true. This is truly
nauseating.

I remember about five years ago I was reading a book for my
son. It was about the Japanese-Americans internment in the
U.S. I was explaining to him how mistakes were made and that
later the government apologized for them, and I was
wondering what he feels about this? Little did I know that a
few years down the road our government was going to make the
same mistakes again, and that this time immigrants from my
homeland Iran will also be affected.

Most of the arrested people have been living in the U.S. for
many years now. They have families, jobs (with work
authorizations), and are hard-working and peaceful people.
Their only "crimes" are being born in the "wrong" countries
and being out of status, that is not having a current visa.

But this is nothing new. This has been a tolerated and
accepted practice by INS to allow people who have applied
for permanent residency to stay in the U.S. until they
receive an interview date from INS and receive their
permanent residency (green card). And these people have
naturally been in regular contact with INS and have been
here with the full knowledge of INS. These people in a way
were given a virtual amnesty until their case is processed
by INS.

Now INS is suddenly doing a 180 turn and reversing the old
practice. There are two problems with this. First, only
nationals of certain countries, mostly Islamic ones, have
been subjected to the new regulations. This will naturally
taint the new regulations as racist and discriminatory.
Second, the regulations cover foreign national from these
countries present in the U.S., including those who have
previously been given the virtual amnesty. Once again, this
will taint the new regulations as unjust and inhuman.

Since the INS has allowed these people to stay in U.S. and
to build families, the United States is now obligated to
protect these families rather than doing something that will
ruin them. Like many other rules, this rule must not be
applied retroactively because it will unfairly affect people
following past accepted rules and practices. Lives of
thousands of innocent people will be affected if these new
regulations are applied retroactively. And there will be
waves of fear and hatred in the immigrant communities. It's
ironic that the very fear of persecution that many people in
these communities have witnessed and experienced in their
own homeland is now coming back to them, but this time in
the country they viewed as "free" and "just" and where they
chose to make a new life.

This travesty of justice is being directly driven by the
highest authorities in the Justice Department. John Ashcroft
should be personally held accountable for heading these
efforts that could ruin the lives of innocent families, by
some estimates numbering over 10,000. This and other similar
actions will not lead us to a more secure America. They
would rather lead to another disgraceful past left for
generations to come who will have to bear the shame and the
guilt, just as our generation has been doing in the case of
Japanese-Americans.

Ali Moayedian is an Iranian-American who lives in San
Francisco Bay Area. He may be reached at ads@best.com.