The Clipboard: Blacks, Other Communities Brace for Tougher Terrorism Crackdown

From an article¹:

While the anti-terrorism Patriot Act is widely thought to affect only Arabs and Muslims, the law has put all blacks in an increasingly vulnerable state according to ColorLines, an Oakland magazine that covers race and politics.

Tammy Johnson writes that black immigrants are also detained without due process, especially Haitian immigrants seeking asylum, says Johnson. Attorney General John Ashcroft has used the "twisted logic that detaining Haitians would discourage others from coming to America, thus preventing the diversion of Coast Guard resources from homeland security initiatives."

Johnson also argues that the Patriot Act makes the police more aggressive about racial profiling. She cites the case of a Sudanese refugee from San Jose, Calif. who was in his car en route to the federal immigration office to obtain documents for his employer of his legal status in the United States. The police pulled him over with no justification and pointed guns at him. In the end, the police did not give Abraham a ticket for speeding but questioned him about his immigration status.

Johnson suggests that black leaders continue to meet with others affected by the Patriot Act to turn back what he calls a tide of racial-profiling and injustice. (link)

I think that all communities of color need to be alert and wary these days.

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Complete text of the article, Blacks, Other Communities Brace for Tougher Terrorism Crackdown, by Bridges Ethnic Media Digest

While the anti-terrorism Patriot Act is widely thought to affect only Arabs and Muslims, the law has put all blacks in an increasingly vulnerable state according to ColorLines, an Oakland magazine that covers race and politics.

Tammy Johnson writes that black immigrants are also detained without due process, especially Haitian immigrants seeking asylum, says Johnson. Attorney General John Ashcroft has used the "twisted logic that detaining Haitians would discourage others from coming to America, thus preventing the diversion of Coast Guard resources from homeland security initiatives."

Johnson also argues that the Patriot Act makes the police more aggressive about racial profiling. She cites the case of a Sudanese refugee from San Jose, Calif. who was in his car en route to the federal immigration office to obtain documents for his employer of his legal status in the United States. The police pulled him over with no justification and pointed guns at him. In the end, the police did not give Abraham a ticket for speeding but questioned him about his immigration status.

Johnson suggests that black leaders continue to meet with others affected by the Patriot Act to turn back what he calls a tide of racial-profiling and injustice.
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Male nationals of 25 countries living in the United States are bracing themselves for a second round of registration next month as part of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services' efforts to track down terrorists.

In 2002, more than 100,000 men and boys registered with the government and approximately 13,000 were detained and subject to "aggressive intimidating interrogation," according to the American Muslim Voice (AMV), a California based advocacy group. Those detained also faced the possibility of deportation due to visa violations, according to the AMV.

The AMV is forming an alliance with the Blue Triangle Network, a Muslim advocacy group in Michigan and the Pakistan American Alliance, a California-based group, to ask the Justice Department why individuals who registered last year must do so again this year.

"To my knowledge no terrorists have been captured," sais Samina Faheem with the AMV. " On the only Muslim nationwide special registration hotline, over and over I heard from confused and fearful people; 'No terrorist is going to walk into the INS office and register. Why are we being targeted and treated like common criminals?' This program has created a culture of anxiety, humiliation, frustration, anger and total despair in my community," said Faheem.

The BCIS (Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services) is requiring males ages 15 and older who are citizens of the following countries to re-register: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan or Kuwait.

During the registration process, the individuals are finger printed and photographed and their addresses, credit cards, social security number and driver's license number are recorded. The immigration authorities also track individuals each time they leave the country and require them to only leave or enter from specific ports.

reference=http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=cca2b2c4fae475cc79f676dabc1c414c