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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (18539)	12/18/2002 1:40:04 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 23908

INS dragnet focuses on Muslim men Many arrests at deadline for visitors from terror-sponsoring nations December 18, 2002 A new federal program to track visitors and temporary residents from mostly Muslim countries drew angry comparisons to the roundup of Japanese during World War II as immigration authorities in Southern California interviewed, fingerprinted and photographed hundreds of men from five nations. Males age 16 and older from designated countries must register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service by certain deadlines in a program designed to identify potential terrorists. Men from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria were ordered to register by Monday. Visitors from 13 other countries must register by Jan. 10. As WorldNetDaily first reported in September, a Justice Department memo said citizens of two U.S. allies in the war on terrorism would be added to the list, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Pakistani Embassy press attache Asad Hayauddin complained at the time that the policy would leave a "bad taste" among his people, treating them "like common criminals." Visitors from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – countries officially added to the list on Monday – must register by Feb. 26 if they entered the U.S. on or before Sept. 30. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that at least 50 men were arrested Monday in San Diego and scores were led away in handcuffs in Los Angeles, according to witnesses. At least 22 were arrested at the INS Santa Ana office, the Orange Country Register said. In Anaheim, hundreds of men milled around the INS offices, nervously pacing and debating whether to register, according to the Los Angeles Times. The men were among an estimated 7,200 foreigners who are subject to criminal charges and immediate deportation if they fail to comply. The Times noted, however, that registration also could lead to a deportation proceeding, for those discovered to be in the country illegally. Officials pointed out that some of the foreigners who showed up yesterday have overstayed their visas by more than 10 years without good reason, the San Diego paper said. "This is the first step of building up the integrity of our visa system so we know where people are," Adele Fasano, district director of San Diego's INS office, told the Union-Tribune. Adel Hajrasilihd, whose brother registered in Anaheim, said the federal action was "like the roundup of the Japanese during World War II," the Times reported. "Terrorists don't report themselves," he told the Times. "It's people who are honest who are here, and they are not being treated well." But INS spokeswoman Virginia Kice said the agency is responding to a public desire for integrity in the nation's immigration system after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "We have been charged with putting into place a comprehensive entry and exit system," Kice said, according to the Times. "This is the first step and it will eventually apply to everyone." The U.S. Islamic lobby group Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked immigration officials to extend the registration deadline, arguing that many people were not aware of the requirement, the Times said. The rule does not affect foreigners seeking asylum or those with green cards. The move shocked many foreigners and their lawyers, who said the INS had changed its established practice of not detaining people until their green card applications were processed, the San Diego Union-Tribune said. Immigration officials, however, insist they always tried to detain immigrants who overstayed their visas but often have lacked resources. Attorneys said they hoped the INS would release their clients on bond once they proved they wouldn't flee and weren't dangerous, according to the San Diego paper. However, they feared some who may be eligible for green cards might be deported instead. But immigration officials said anyone who has a pending green card application will be allowed to go before an immigration judge and plead his case. Public wants limits A new poll released yesterday indicated that the general public is much more opposed to immigration, both legal and illegal, than policymakers, the Miami Herald said. In the summer survey, 70 percent of the 2,862 people interviewed said that ''controlling and reducing illegal immigration'' should be a ''very important'' policy goal, compared to 22 percent of 400 leaders from Congress, business, labor and religious and academic groups. In addition, 55 percent of the general public favored a reduction in legal immigration, compared to 18 percent among the group of leaders surveyed. The survey was conducted on a broad range of foreign policy questions by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that analyzed the results, said the survey bolsters its position that limits should be placed on immigration. worldnetdaily.com

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (18539)	12/18/2002 5:34:00 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23908

Indian leader applauds Hitler Anti-Jewish diatribe prompts demand for hate-crimes probe in Saskatchewan space By ERIN ANDERSSEN Monday, December 16, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A1 A prominent Jewish group in Canada is calling for a hate-crimes investigation after a former national native chief publicly applauded Adolf Hitler for the six million Jews "fried" in the Holocaust. Keith Landy, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, suggested the Saskatchewan government consider charging David Ahenakew, a former leader of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada's most prominent native group. "There's no doubt that the police should be looking into this," Mr. Landy said. "These statements cannot be made with impunity." Mr. Ahenakew was quoted as saying that Hitler's genocide against Jews and others was an attempt to "clean up the world." "That's how Hitler came in," he told the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. "He was going to make damn sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany and Europe. That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know. Jews would have owned the goddamned world. And look what they're doing. They're killing people in Arab countries." Mr. Ahenakew, 68, who headed the AFN in the 1980s and remains a prominent native statesman, made the remarks after addressing a meeting of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, a group he once led. The subject of the meeting was a new Health Canada policy requiring natives to sign consent forms releasing medical information before they can obtain services. In his speech, the Star Phoenix reported, Mr. Ahenakew said that while he served with the Canadian Army in Germany in the 1950s, the Germans had told him the Jews started the Second World War. Asked by a reporter to clarify his statement, he said he agreed with the Germans, and in reference to the Holocaust, responded, "How do you get rid of a disease like that, that's going to take over, that's going to dominate?" When it was pointed out to him that the Nazis had committed genocide, he said: "I don't support Hitler. But he cleaned up a hell of a lot of things, didn't he? You would be owned by Jews right now the world over." Mr. Ahenakew told the gathering that he has warned provincial officials "40 years down the road, we're going to be taking over [because of population growth among Indian people]. We're going to be the government. You [non-Indians] are going to be the Indians, and we're going to be the bosses. And you [the government] better start preparing right now." He also complained about bigotry in city schools. "My great-grandson goes to school here in Saskatoon. These goddamned immigrants -- East Indians, Pakistanis, Afghanistan, whites and so forth -- call him a dirty little Indian. He's the cleanest of the old goddamn works there. That's what I'm saying. It's starting right there, at six years old." Mr. Ahenakew could not be reached for comment yesterday, but he was expected to meet today with the chief of the Saskatchewan native organization, Perry Bellegarde, to discuss his statements. Native leaders have made efforts to distance themselves from his comments. A spokesperson for the AFN stressed that the national association does not share his views. Mr. Bellegarde, who was not at the meeting, called the comments shocking and pointed out that Mr. Ahenakew is no longer an elected member of the federation. As a former provincial leader, he holds the honorary title of senator. He has a reputation for bold talk; most recently, he was quoted in July warning of an impending "physical confrontation" over native issues that neither the police nor the army would be able to stop. "We respect David," Mr. Bellegarde said yesterday. "But his views on the Holocaust are his own personal views. His language and train of thought must have gotten off track. We don't try to push people apart and burn bridges." Mr. Bellegarde said he plans to send letters of apology to Canada's Jewish organizations. Members of the Saskatoon Jewish community met yesterday to decide what action to take. Susanne Kaplan, president of the congregation Agudas Israel, said that she now plans to wait to hear from native leaders. A criminal charge under the country's hate laws would require the consent of Saskatchewan's Attorney-General. The offence, defined as advocating and promoting genocide, carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Mr. Landy said his group will review the process for filing a complaint and gather input from other Jewish representatives in Saskatchewan. "One has to question what is the motivation and how deeply held are these views," said Mr. Landy. Another former head of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, called Mr. Ahenakew's comments intolerable, but declined to comment on whether they constituted a hate crime. "[Aboriginals] have been subject to all kinds of similar experience with racism; I don't know why we should turn around and inflict that on other people. You can imagine if it was directed at us as first nations people; there would be a great hue and cry."