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Washington Post - March 29, 2004 U.S. Anti-Terrorism Tactic: Immigration By Mary Beth Sheridan Majed Hajbeh was in his stocking feet when the war on terrorism came calling. It was a rare morning off for the engineering technician, a lazy Thursday in a suburban Virginia neighborhood of red-brick townhouses and gently flowering Bradford pear trees. And then came the rap on the door. Agents from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were on the stoop of the Woodbridge home. Hajbeh, 41, black-eyed and bearded, agreed to let them search it. Several hours later, they drove off clutching a sheaf of documents related to his immigration in 1992. Today, nearly 10 months after that raid, Hajbeh sits in an orange jumpsuit in Piedmont Regional Jail near Lynchburg. He is facing a routine immigration charge: falsely portraying himself as a single man in order to qualify for legal U.S. residency. But if he is sent back to his native Jordan, he faces a life sentence. And that is precisely why U.S. authorities are so eager to get rid of him. According to court testimony, the agents drove to Hajbeh's townhouse June 9 after making an alarming discovery: He had been convicted in 1999 for a series of bomb attacks in Jordan. Hajbeh's case offers a glimpse at a new legal offensive playing out in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Homeland Security officials say they are checking immigration records of hundreds of U.S. residents suspected of ties to terrorism, looking for violations in order to jail and potentially deport them. Officials argue that with the United States facing grave peril, they must do everything they can to ferret out potential terrorists. But building terrorism cases can be dauntingly complex, so in many cases authorities are turning to evidence of other, lesser offenses. Hajbeh's supporters, including local Muslims and a civic group in Prince William County, protest that this tactic is abusive. They say that the Jordanian bombing case is full of holes and that it is unfair to separate a man from his wife and seven children for 10 months because of a minor immigration charge. Denyse Sabagh, one of Hajbeh's attorneys, complained that authorities are using terrorism allegations to target immigrants, even though they are never charged with terrorism. "Just because there's some sort of hint there could be something there, they just want them out," she said. Michael J. Garcia, who oversees immigration and customs enforcement at Homeland Security, acknowledged that immigration charges are being used in a more systematic way than ever against potential terrorists. He defended the move, saying the government must use all legal tools to preempt attacks. "We are looking to use them broadly to shut down those vulnerabilities before they become acute," he said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31892-2004Mar28.html |