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Herald-Leader – April 28, 2004 Don't treat immigrants as enemies By Kevin O'Neil The United States has a long and complex relationship with immigration. During times of peace and prosperity, we tout immigration as one of the cornerstones of our economy and national identity. Conversely, in times of strife and conflict, immigrants become the target of some of our most shameful and discriminatory acts. We have learned, however. There is widespread acknowledgement that the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was a cruel overreaction to an imaginary threat. To see the dedication most immigrants have to their new country, we need look no further than the first U.S. soldier killed in combat during the current war in Iraq. Lance Cpl. JosŽ Gutierrez was born in Guatemala, granted asylum in the United States and died defending his adopted country. At the time of his death, he was one of 31,000 non-U.S. citizens serving in our military. In fact, immigrants are making exceptional contributions to U.S. war efforts and national security. The FBI and Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently began conducting voluntary interviews of about 11,000 Iraqi immigrants in the United States. Just as they did in the 1991 Gulf War, thousands of Iraqi immigrants have provided information that may protect Americans at home and in Iraq. At its best, the program is an example of strong cooperation between immigrants and the government: FBI and immigration officials have met with immigrant groups to explain the need for interviews, invited interviewees to have lawyers or advocates present and pledged to investigate hate crimes committed against the Iraqi community. Unfortunately, other efforts by the Bush administration have treated immigrants and visitors as enemies rather than allies. As a result, the government has alienated large groups while doing little to improve national security. The administration's "Special Registration" program is one such example. The program requires male foreign visitors from predominantly Arab and Muslim countries to register with the government. Those who do not register are subject to deportation, even if they are in the United States legally. The vast majority is eligible to become permanent residents and citizens. The administration announced the registration program with minimal notice, inaccurate translations of registration procedures and understaffed offices that gave inconsistent information about the documents needed when registering and the right to legal representation. The program evoked fresh memories of the post-9/11 detentions, in which 1,200 or more people were detained and held for immigration violations without being charged with a terrorism-related crime. Fear increased when registrants living in this country legally were detained because of errors by immigration officials. As a result, America has, for the first time in its history, become a place from which people flee. Hundreds of people from Muslim countries, some of whom have legal permission to live here, fled to Canada. They think that a country which once welcomed them now targets them because of their religion or nationality. Some are terrified of trusting a poorly managed program that has detained and deported many. Others, too scared to register but determined not to leave their new home, now live in fear of deportation. It is unlikely that the registration will help capture terrorists. As a short-term security strategy, it is equivalent to asking terrorists to turn themselves in. The administration's poorly planned efforts have only intimidated immigrants, discouraging them from turning to law enforcement authorities. This, in turn, makes it harder to improve national security. Had the administration worked in advance with immigrant communities, applied the Special Registration program to all visitors from all countries, and made the registration and detention procedures orderly and transparent, it could have added to intelligence information, verified the legal status of most temporary visitors and made immigrants think their civil liberties were being protected. The Bush administration needs to regard immigrants as allies. Security programs based on outreach and integration instead of suspicion are not only more consistent with our national values, they are more likely to make us safer. Kevin O'Neil, a native of Lexington and a graduate of Dunbar High School, is a research associate at Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/opinion/5721175.htm |