Federal officials in Michigan sent letters Monday to more than 500 young, mainly Middle Eastern men, asking that they report within a week to answer questions as part of the Justice Department's sweeping investigation into terrorist networks in the United States. [...] Language used in the letter is polite, emphasizing that the interview is voluntary and that "we have no reason to believe that you are, in any way, associated with terrorist activities." [...] The Detroit area's Arab-American population is large and powerful, and the authorities' decision to contact the interview subjects via letters--rather than with a phone call or a knock on the door--was portrayed as an attempt to make the process as gentle as possible.
Aw. How sweet of them! It's so nice and kind and gentle of them to send that little letter, isn't it? And, yes, it is kinder than a knock on the door -- although I don't see much difference between the letter and a phone call.
Of course, "voluntary" is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?
But people who don't answer the written requests for interviews as part of a nationwide terrorism investigation may still find law enforcement authorities showing up at their homes. [...] Kary Moss, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, welcomed the mass-mail tactic. But Moss said the letter that will be sent to the men does not spell out two important things: that people who are interviewed may bring a lawyer and that anyone with an immigration violation risks being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service authorities.
Yes, I dare say any one who refuses "may still find" law enforcement at their door. In fact, I'd be willing to bet gaspingly large sums of money on it.
You probably get one chance to set up an appointment in a "voluntary" manner at your convenience by responding to the letter. If you refuse, as you have every right to do, THEN you get the knock on the door, and almost certainly just a little detention as they take you to a "secure facility" to question you. After all, if you refuse the voluntary interview, then clearly, you have something to hide, right?
I don't imagine that the government would tell people about the risks of responding, either, these days. After all, if they're not letting people actually in jail have much contact with lawyers and are listening to their conversations when they do, they certainly wouldn't want people still free to have any sort of representation. Nor would they tell people with immigration violations that responding could put them in difficulty; after all, that's how most of the Disappeared ... er, the Detained got into prison in the first place, through minor immigration violations.
And don't you just love that our Minister of Injustice is refusing to release the names of the Disappeared ... er, pardon, the Detained because it "would aid bin Laden by informing him which members of his network are jailed and out of commission" and because he's "not going to develop some sort of blacklist of individuals who have been held. The law properly prevents the department from creating a public blacklist of detainees that would violate their rights." I'm slightly baffled as to how it would help bin Laden -- I wouldn't imagine that his communication with the outside world is particularly good at the moment, or will be in the near future. And the sheer numbers argue against any sort of "blacklist."
The interesting thing is that in every jurisdiction in the United States, including the federal government, the names of people being arrested are officially matters of public record ... Oh, I forgot. They haven't been charged, have they? They're merely being temporarily "held for questioning".
For nearly three months now.
Copyright © 2001, Iain Jackson, after-words.org
[Archives: 2001 and after]
Archives before February 5, 2001
Search entries:
12/19/2001: vive la france
12/19/2001: princess, redux
12/19/2001: yemen and rumsfeld
12/18/2001: you're NOT in the army now
12/18/2001: interesting donation
12/18/2001: shame on winn dixie, indeed
12/18/2001: saudi princess
12/17/2001: new resolve
12/17/2001: a victim of the attack ... yeah, right
12/17/2001: polluters ho!