The Clipboard: Administration's New Asylum Policy Comes Under Fire

From an article¹:

"This sends a message to people who are the victims of human rights abuses that we are going to put you into detention if you come from the very countries that the U.S. has identified - that President Bush has identified - as having torture chambers and committing egregious human rights abuses," said Bill Frelick, director of the refugee program for Amnesty International USA. (link, registration required)

Oh, God. I think "innocent until proven guilty" died in this country on 9/11.

---

Complete text of the article, Administration's New Asylum Policy Comes Under Fire, by Philip Shenon (registration required for offsite link)

The Bush administration's decision to begin detaining asylum seekers from Iraq and 33 other countries where Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have operated met with harsh criticism today from civil liberties groups and immigration lawyers.

The administration said the policy, announced on Monday as one of a number of counterterrorism measures imposed in anticipation of a war with Iraq, should affect fewer than 600 immigrants a year, most of them Iraqi.

But civil liberties groups and immigration-law specialists said the wording of the administration's announcement was so broad that it could ultimately require the imprisonment of thousands of asylum seekers, including Iraqis persecuted and even tortured by the government of Saddam Hussein.

"This sends a message to people who are the victims of human rights abuses that we are going to put you into detention if you come from the very countries that the U.S. has identified — that President Bush has identified — as having torture chambers and committing egregious human rights abuses," said Bill Frelick, director of the refugee program for Amnesty International USA.

Under the policy, asylum seekers from the designated countries, who would otherwise have gone free while their claims of persecution were reviewed by federal immigration authorities, will remain in custody throughout the processing period. That period can last several months, in some cases more than a year.

At a news conference today, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the detention policy was being imposed to prevent terrorists from trying to enter the United States by making asylum claims.

"We want to make absolutely certain during this period of time you are who you say you are," Mr. Ridge said. "We'll be looking, obviously scrutinizing all asylum seekers at this time, but there are countries that we believe are supportive of Al Qaeda or countries where we know there is an Al Qaeda network or other terrorist organizations."

reference=http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/19/politics/19HOME.html