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Immigration Advocates Question Purpose of INS Registration Rules

By Michael Sangiacomo
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Posted on Tuesday December 17, 2002

If the federal government wants visitors from 20 countries that are considered sources of terrorism to register their presence in the United States, it went about it in a strange way, immigration lawyers say.

The lawyers question why the Department of Justice and the Immigration and Naturalization Services did so little to publicize the registration, since failure to do so could result in deportation.

“They made this announcement about as quietly as possible,” said James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. “There was almost no press outreach and almost nothing else was done to alert the people who needed to be told. This affects visiting doctors, researchers, students, businessmen and others.”

Yesterday was the deadline to register for men over 16 from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan who entered the United States before Sept. 30. Those who missed the deadline face deportation. By Jan. 10, visitors from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen must register with the INS.

Also yesterday, the Justice Department added Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to the list, with a requirement that visitors from those counties register by Feb. 21.

When they report, they will be fingerprinted, photographed and asked dozens of questions about their background and why they’re in the United States.

David Leopold, state chairman of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said many are wondering if the government set up people to fail. “My fear is that this was done to have a pretext to pick up everyone who failed to register,” he said. “They only gave people about 30 days to find out about it and register. What was the rush?”

U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Jorge Martinez said the INS did not take out advertising in newspapers or television but did reach out to colleges and ethnic community leaders.

Lawyers said another concern was that the registration puts an unfair burden on immigrants who want to obey the law.

Leopold said many people who took advantage of an INS program last year that allowed illegal immigrants to become legal were still waiting for the paperwork to come through. Technically, they were in violation of the immigration codes.

One of those people is Ahmad (not his real name), who, under the amnesty program, was about a year away from getting permanent residency status, known as a green card, that would allow the Syrian native to stay in Cleveland and run his small business.

Yesterday, Ahmad registered with the INS in Cleveland as ordered but was placed in deportation proceedings, even though his green card application is being processed.

His lawyer does not believe Ahmad will be deported, but the INS action adds at least another 18 months to his wait for a green card and thousands of dollars in legal expenses and several appearances before an immigration lawyer.

Some of those who sought legal status under the program last year were taken into custody and had to post bond before being released, Leopold said.

“Here are people who are trying to do the right thing and they are punished for it,” said Leopold. “Now they have to go before an already overburdened immigration judge and plead their case all over again. It’s crazy.”