US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely

[Ban Hammer 13,771]

WASHINGTON - Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees.

In court documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured and held in the United States.

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, was arrested in 2001 while studying in the United States. He has been labeled an "enemy combatant," a designation that, under a law signed last month, strips foreigners of the right to challenge their detention in federal courts.

That law is being used to argue the Guantanamo Bay cases, but Al-Marri represents the first detainee inside the United States to come under the new law. Aliens normally have the right to contest their imprisonment, such as when they are arrested on immigration violations or for other crimes.

"It's pretty stunning that any alien living in the United States can be denied this right," said Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney for Al-Marri. "It means any non-citizen, and there are millions of them, can be whisked off at night and be put in detention."

The new law says that enemy combatants will be tried before military commissions, not a civilian judge or jury, and establishes different rules of evidence in the cases. It also prohibits detainees from challenging their detention in civilian court.

In a separate court filing in Washington on Monday, the Justice Department defended that law as constitutional and necessary.

Government attorneys said foreign fighters arrested as part of an overseas military action have no constitutional rights and are being afforded more legal rights than ever.

In its short filing in the Al-Marri case, however, the Justice Department doesn't mention that Al-Marri is being held at a military prison in South Carolina — a fact that his attorneys say affords him the same rights as anyone else being held in the United States.

The Justice Department noted only that the new law applies to all enemy combatants "regardless of the location of the detention."

The Bush administration maintains that al-Marri is an al-Qaida sleeper agent. The Defense Department ordered a review of Al-Marri's status as an enemy combatant be conducted if, as requested, the case is thrown out of court.

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[Jenn! 918]

This scares the sh!t out of me.

[Alex+R 0]

This scares the sh!t out of me.

Holy #######, me too.

[Caladan 19]

Glad to see the media are waking up to this; that's what the bill passed last month did.

This is very worrisome. I want to be tough on terror, too, but no right to challenge, ever? Hell, we get a receipt from USCIS so we can track our cases if they screw them up, but we're supposed to trust that they will never ever ever ever make mistakes when arresting someone? They can't even get a court date to say, no, seriously, you've made a mistake, it's just that our names are similar.

Party of small government my ###.

[Ban Hammer 13,771]

This scares the sh!t out of me.

Holy #######, me too.

me three!

[mawilson 2,133]

Charles -- if Nessa doesn't behave, you can declare her an "enemy combatant".

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

[Ban Hammer 13,771]

Charles -- if Nessa doesn't behave, you can declare her an "enemy combatant".

hey that's an idea to keep her in line and making dinner

[almaty 19]

ditto brother reinhard....

[LaL 418]

awesome! more paranoia fueled legislation! what more can i say? i love my government.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Ok, Al-Marri was here on a student visa, so I'm assuming not a permenant resident. Would this law also apply to permenant residents?

But still, sh*t. I tell my husband all the time how great our consitution is, how great our civil rights and liberties are, and we get more of this. Damn.

[Karen_L 1]

Yikes.

[Reba 2]

I expect it applies to any non-citizen in the United States, regardless of what type of visa or residency permit they hold. I wouldn't be surprised if they also tack onto that naturalised citizens of certain origins at some point too.

Can I go home now? This place scares me.

[Caladan 19]

It includes permanent residents. Any non-citizen. Leahy is rumored to be introducing legislation to overturn this bit, so at least everyone gets a hearing. (The move to strike it down only failed 48-51 in the Senate, so there's a reasonable chance it will pass.)

And potentially, any citizen could be imprisoned, because think about it: if you were mistaken for a terror suspect, and imprisoned, and they thought you had no right to trial, how are you going to prove you're a citizen? Ask the guy waterboarding you nicely if you can call home to get your passport?

[mmb 0]

Why be surprised, this is exactly what was promised when the Patriot Act was first rushed through. This is nothing new.