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Sacramento Bee - October 31, 2003
Immigrants decry U.S. order to register again
The men, mostly from the Mideast and Muslim nations, see a mixed message
By Emily Bazar – Sacramento Bee Capitol Bureau
Earlier this year, the federal government declared an end to a controversial program that required men mostly from Middle Eastern and Muslim countries to register with local immigration officials.
In what's being described as a case of mixed messages, immigration officials now are telling the 83,519 men who were fingerprinted, photographed and interrogated in the past year that they must re-register within 10 days of their anniversary date.
The registration process initially was billed as an anti-terrorism tracking tool, intended to help federal officials keep tabs on certain non-citizens living in the country.
Those who complied with the order were told that they would have to check in with officials annually, officials say, to update their information and prove they're still in the country legally.
But many of the affected men say they were never told when they first appeared that they would have to re-register a year later. As the first anniversary dates approach in November, the re-registration requirement is causing widespread dismay among the men and their advocates, who argue the requirement is overkill.
Ali Nassirian, 24, of Sacramento said he just learned of the requirement. The college student and furniture sales representative registered last December in Sacramento with little fuss. Nassirian, who came to the United States from Iran when he was 6, said he wasn't told a year ago that he would have to return.
"I've come to expect bad news from them," said Nassirian, who first petitioned for a green card in 1995. In the past month, he has had some trouble with his green card application and doesn't know what will happen when he shows up to re-register. "This does annoy me, yeah," he said. "It lingers in your head all day and distracts you from what's going on."
Immigrant activists say Nassirian, who has no criminal record, is a perfect example of why registration should end. "When the program started, we were told they are trying to catch terrorists. None of these people are linked to terrorism," said Samina Faheem, executive director of American Muslim Voice.
"This program was unjust, unfair, un-American, unethical and totally ineffective last year," said Faheem, who is organizing a campaign to stop the registration program. "It does not make sense at all this year."
The federal government instituted the special registration program in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Under the program, men 16 and older from 25 countries -- most of them in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia -- had to report to immigration offices from November through April.
The order applied to men who were not green card holders, U.S. citizens, diplomats or people who had been granted political asylum.
Controversy erupted Dec. 16 -- the deadline for men from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria -- when hundreds of mostly Iranian men were jailed by immigration officials when they showed up. Many had expired visas, but some were in the country legally.
In all, 2,870 men were detained after registering, and more than 13,000 face deportation, said Department of Homeland Security spokesman Bill Strassberger. "It's the responsibility of the visitors of the United States to maintain their status," he said.
In the meantime, federal officials announced this spring that the program was ending, to be replaced by a high-tech, biometric system that would register most foreign visitors -- from hundreds of countries -- when they arrive at international airports and seaports. Yet the original program hasn't really ended, particularly for the men who have already registered. Lori Haley, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Laguna Niguel, said those who already registered would still be required to re-register.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/7700692p-8640374c.html
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