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April 1, 2003
Patriot Raid, By Jason Halperin

Two weeks ago I experienced a very small taste of what hundreds of South
Asian immigrants and US 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, under the 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.

While having some limited knowledge of the rights afforded to US
citizens, 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 OKed.

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. You are being held under the Patriot Act
following suspicion under an internal Homeland Security investigation."

The Patriot Act was passed into law on October 26, 2001 in order to
facilitate the post 9/11 crackdown on terrorism. 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 I 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 US 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 US 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 the just the first phase of the erosion of the Fourth
Amendment. On the congressional table this summer is the Domestic
Securities Enhancement Act, also known as Patriot II. (Is it a missile or
a piece of legislation?) 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.