[Peace-discuss] Fwd: {Spam?} Fw: Fw: Patriot Raid

Tue May 6 12:44:55 CDT 2003

>To: katrani at juno.com
>Date: Mon, 5 May 2003 19:56:12 -0500
>Subject: {Spam?} Fw: Fw:      Patriot Raid
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>From: Margaret Katranides <katrani at juno.com>
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>         You may not be surprised by this, but many of our compatriots 
> would be.
>We need to talk it up--Ashcroft doesn't think Congress has gone far
>enough, yet, in curtailing our "inalienable" rights, and he'll get away
>with more curtailing if people don't resist any better than we have so
>far.
>                 Peace--         Margaret
>
>From: Thomas Alexander <talex at siu.edu>
>To: QUAKER-L at SIU.EDU
>Date: Mon, 5 May 2003 14:52:11 -0500
>Subject: Fw:      Patriot Raid
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>-----Original Message-----
>From: Matt Sronkoski <<mailto:mattski at siu.edu>mattski at siu.edu>
>To: <mailto:PHILOSOPHY-L at SIU.EDU>PHILOSOPHY-L at SIU.EDU 
><<mailto:PHILOSOPHY-L at SIU.EDU>PHILOSOPHY-L at SIU.EDU>
>Date: Monday, May 05, 2003 1:34 PM
>Subject: Patriot Raid
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Patriot Raid
>
>By Jason Halperin
>
>Published by <http://www.alternet.org>AlterNet
>April 29, 2003
>
>A month ago I experienced a very small taste of what hundreds of South 
>Asian immigrants and U.S. citizens of South Asian descent have gone 
>through since 9/11, and what thousands of others have come to fear. I was 
>held, against my will and without warrant or cause, under the USA PATRIOT 
>Act. While I understand the need for some measure of security and 
>precaution in times such as these, the manner in which this detention and 
>interrogation took place raises serious questions about police tactics and 
>the safeguarding of civil liberties in times of war.
>
>
>That night, March 20th, my roommate Asher and I were on our way to see the 
>Broadway show "Rent." We had an hour to spare before curtain time so we 
>stopped into an Indian restaurant just off of Times Square in the heart of 
>midtown. I have omitted the name of the restaurant so as not to subject 
>the owners to any further harassment or humiliation.
>
>
>We helped ourselves to the buffet and then sat down to begin eating our 
>dinner. I was just about to tell Asher how I'd eaten there before and how 
>delicious the vegetable curry was, but I never got a chance. All of a 
>sudden, there was a terrible commotion and five NYPD in bulletproof vests 
>stormed down the stairs. They had their guns drawn and were pointing them 
>indiscriminately at the restaurant staff and at us.
>
>
>"Go to the back, go to the back of the restaurant," they yelled.
>
>
>I hesitated, lost in my own panic.
>
>
>"Did you not hear me, go to the back and sit down," they demanded.
>
>
>I complied and looked around at the other patrons. There were eight men 
>including the waiter, all of South Asian descent and ranging in age from 
>late-teens to senior citizen. One of the policemen pointed his gun 
>point-blank in the face of the waiter and shouted: "Is there anyone else 
>in the restaurant?" The waiter, terrified, gestured to the kitchen.
>
>
>The police placed their fingers on the triggers of their guns and kicked 
>open the kitchen doors. Shouts emanated from the kitchen and a few seconds 
>later five Hispanic men were made to crawl out on their hands and knees, 
>guns pointed at them.
>
>
>After patting us all down, the five officers seated us at two tables. As 
>they continued to kick open doors to closets and bathrooms with their 
>fingers glued to their triggers, no less than ten officers in suits 
>emerged from the stairwell. Most of them sat in the back of the restaurant 
>typing on their laptop computers. Two of them walked over to our table and 
>identified themselves as officers of the INS and Homeland Security Department.
>
>
>I explained that we were just eating dinner and asked why we were being 
>held. We were told by the INS agent that we would be released once they 
>had confirmation that we had no outstanding warrants and our immigration 
>status was OK'd.
>
>
>In pre-9/11 America, the legality of this would have been questionable. 
>After all, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states: "The right of 
>the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, 
>against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no 
>warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or 
>affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the 
>persons or things to be seized."
>
>
>"You have no right to hold us," Asher insisted.
>
>
>"Yes, we have every right," responded one of the agents. "You are being 
>held under the Patriot Act following suspicion under an internal Homeland 
>Security investigation."
>
>
>The USA PATRIOT Act was passed into law on October 26, 2001 in order to 
>facilitate the post 9/11 crackdown on terrorism (the name is actually an 
>acronym: "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools 
>Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.") Like most Americans, I 
>did not recognize the extent to which this bill foregoes our civil 
>liberties. Among the unprecedented rights it grants to the federal 
>government are the right to wiretap without warrant, and the right to 
>detain without warrant. As I quickly discovered, the right to an attorney 
>has been seemingly fudged as well.
>
>
>When I asked to speak to a lawyer, the INS official informed me that I do 
>have the right to a lawyer but I would have to be brought down to the 
>station and await security clearance before being granted one. When I 
>asked how long that would take, he replied with a coy smile: "Maybe a day, 
>maybe a week, maybe a month."
>
>
>We insisted that we had every right to leave and were going to do so. One 
>of the policemen walked over with his hand on his gun and taunted: "Go 
>ahead and leave, just go ahead."
>
>
>We remained seated. Our IDs were taken, and brought to the officers with 
>laptops. I was questioned over the fact that my license was out of state, 
>and asked if I had "something to hide." The police continued to hassle the 
>kitchen workers, demanding licenses and dates of birth. One of the kitchen 
>workers was shaking hysterically and kept providing the day's date March 
>20, 2003, over and over.
>
>
>As I continued to press for legal counsel, a female officer who had been 
>busy typing on her laptop in the front of the restaurant, walked over and 
>put her finger in my face. "We are at war, we are at war and this is for 
>your safety," she exclaimed. As she walked away from the table, she 
>continued to repeat it to herself? "We are at war, we are at war. How can 
>they not understand this."
>
>
>I most certainly understand that we are at war. I also understand that the 
>freedoms afforded to all of us in the Constitution were meant specifically 
>for times like these. Our freedoms were carved out during times of strife 
>by people who were facing brutal injustices, and were intended 
>specifically so that this nation would behave differently in such times. 
>If our freedoms crumble exactly when they are needed most, then they were 
>really never freedoms at all.
>
>
>After an hour and a half the INS agent walked back over and handed Asher 
>and me our licenses. A policeman took us by the arm and escorted us out of 
>the building. Before stepping out to the street, the INS agent apologized. 
>He explained, in a low voice, that they did not think the two of us were 
>in the restaurant. Several of the other patrons, though of South Asian 
>descent, were in fact U.S. citizens. There were four taxi drivers, two 
>students, one newspaper salesman unwitting customers, just like Asher and 
>me. I doubt, though, they received any apologies from the INS or the 
>Department of Homeland Security.
>
>
>Nor have the over 600 people of South Asian descent currently being held 
>without charge by the Federal government. Apparently, this type of 
>treatment is acceptable. One of the taxi drivers, a U.S. citizen, spoke to 
>me during the interrogation. "Please stop talking to them," he urged. "I 
>have been through this before. Please do whatever they say. Please for our 
>sake."
>
>
>Three days later I phoned the restaurant to discover what happened. The 
>owner was nervous and embarrassed and obviously did not want to talk about 
>it. But I managed to ascertain that the whole thing had been one giant 
>mistake. A mistake. Loaded guns pointed in faces, people made to crawl on 
>their hands and knees, police officers clearly exacerbating a tense 
>situation by kicking in doors, taunting, keeping their fingers on the 
>trigger even after the situation was under control. A mistake. And, 
>according to the ACLU a perfectly legal one, thanks to the Patriot Act.
>
>
>The Patriot Act is just the first phase of the erosion of the Fourth 
>Amendment. From the Justice Department has emerged a draft of the Domestic 
>Securities Enhancement Act, also known as Patriot II. Among other things, 
>this act would allow the Justice Department to detain anyone, anytime, 
>secretly and indefinitely. It would also make it a crime to reveal the 
>identity or even existence of such a detainee.
>
>
>Every American citizen, whether they support the current war or not, 
>should be alarmed by the speed and facility with which these changes to 
>our fundamental rights are taking place. And all of those who thought that 
>these laws would never affect them, who thought that the Patriot Act only 
>applied to the guilty, should heed this story as a wake-up call. Please 
>learn from my experience. We are all vulnerable so speak out and organize, 
>our Fourth Amendment rights depend upon it.
>
>
>Jason Halperin lives in New York City and works at Doctors Without 
>Borders/Medicins San Frontieres. If you are moved by this account, he asks 
>that you consider donating to your local ACLU chapter.

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