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| A bit of history: crackdown on illegal Muslims post-9/11 | ||
| 2010-09-13 | ||
BOB EDWARDS, host: Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, a cornerstone of the Bush administration's counterterrorist strategy has been strict enforcement of immigration laws. Officials say a broad crackdown on illegal aliens was needed to find terrorists already here and prevent more from entering the country. But critics say that approach has turned the war on terror into a war on immigrants and they question whether the changes are making the nation safer. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports. JENNIFER LUDDEN reporting: Six weeks after the attacks on New York and Washington, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a new focus on prevention. He said he was taking a page from Robert Kennedy who, it was said, had mobsters arrested for spitting on the sidewalk. Mr. JOHN ASHCROFT (Attorney General): It will the policy of this Department of Justice to use the same aggressive arrest and detention tactics in the war against terror. Let the terrorists among us be warned. If you overstay your visas, even by one day, we will arrest you. If you violate a local law, we will hope that you will and work to make sure that you are put in jail and be kept in custody as long as possible. We will use every available statute. We will seek every prosecutorial advantage. LUDDEN: Law enforcement agencies began raiding airports across the country, arresting hundreds of illegal aliens working at them. At a recent Justice Department press conference, Paul McNulty, the US attorney for eastern Virginia, said the program has been expanded to other critical sites. Mr. PAUL McNULTY (US Attorney, Virginia): We're looking at the power plants, the military bases, other places where people are employed that are vulnerable and we're running their names through criminal issue record checks. We're making sure that everybody who works there is who they say they are, and these are the ways we have to do business if we're going to prevent terrorism in the future. LUDDEN: Many caught in these raids have been from the large Hispanic population, but the government's most controversial moves have been against Arab and Muslim men. Hundreds were detained and deported in the months after 9/11. An internal report by the Justice Department's inspector general criticized the harsh treatment and near random roundup of many of them. More recently, 80,000 Arab and Muslim men have been fingerprinted and interviewed under a new registration program; 13,000 of them face possible deportation, many for technical violations of immigration law.
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| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 thank you for posting that. You triggered the memory, anon1, and then I went to find the link. I'm glad I did, so thank you, too. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-09-13 22:34 |
| #4 The US tends to favor different immigration groups at different times for different reasons. I think Muslims and Mexicans have had their fair share and it is time to allow another group a chance. And we should limit the numbers to historical levels. And we should disallow anyone that came here illegally, or stayed on illegally, or commited other crims and now wants to be a citizens. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2010-09-13 17:51 |
| #3 I'm missing George W. more and more all the time. Ms. MEISSNER: It makes us appear hypocritical, and domestic policy is undermining long-term foreign policy goals in a dangerous way. We should not be letting that happen. It seems to me Meissner has stated the opposite way it should be. You've got to establish priorities. National security first. Let the State Department smooth over feathers if they must (or not). |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-09-13 12:58 |
| #2 "Under normal circumstances it would indeed be wrong..." I don't agree with this comment at all. I live in an area that was quickly becoming heavily populated with immigrant muslims who would wear their big white or black drapes or full-length wool coats (in hot weather!) prior to 9/11. It is when there is a certain number or perhaps percentage that the hot-tempered, nasty, treat everyone else as "infidels" becomes apparent in everyday circumstances. There is no requirement for western civilization to commit suicide by letting immigration occur from third world countries. I am very grateful for the crackdown because my neighborhood very quickly emptied out of the muslim newcomers. Those professional muslims who have been here for decades I still like. I'm so very sorry for the people who perished on 9/11, but I do believe it was a necessary wake-up call for the west. |
| Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 2010-09-13 12:31 |
| #1 that is tremendous! i am amazed thank you for posting that. with all the bleating from the leftards, I thought that it was nigh on impossible for common sense to rule the day. Under normal circumstances it would indeed be wrong but since a bright sunny day in September, nine years ago, we have been at war. War is not normal circumstance, and it calls for vigilance in watching those who share the enemy's ideology. Bravo. This is probably why there haven't been any massive explosions etc on US soil since. The worst follow-up attacks have been Madrid, Bali, Russia and India |
| Posted by: anon1 2010-09-13 08:57 |