Analysis: Arrests Show Trouble in INS Tracking Effort

WASHINGTON — The arrests of hundreds of men who were trying to comply with an Immigration and Naturalization Service edict have underscored problems with a program aimed at tracking visitors from countries that have been used as bases for terrorism.

Justice Department officials said those arrested in Southern California had in many cases overstayed their visas, but immigration lawyers protested that detention was a harsh and ironic fate for people who were trying to obey the law by registering with INS.

"It strikes me as an unconscionable act of racial profiling to round them up under false pretenses and detain or deport people," said Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice, a civil liberties group. "This is not the way the government should go about its business of protecting people's safety."

Officials at the Justice Department, which has begun implementing the program in response to criticism about the freedom of movement visitors and possible terrorists have in the United States, argue that Southern California was a unique case.

Many who showed up to register were in the country illegally because their visas had expired, said Jorge Martinez, a spokesman for the Justice Department.

"We're talking about individuals who have violated the law," he said. "I can't believe we've become a country where violating the law doesn't matter."

Martinez said news reports of 500 to 700 people detained in Southern California were far higher than the actual figures, though he said he did not have the actual total. He said that by midday yesterday, fewer than 100 were still in custody. People were being released as inspectors received information verifying that they were not security threats, he said.

Immigration lawyers in Massachusetts and other parts of the country said the program has not resulted in mass detentions or deportation orders. But it has contributed to a series of problems that will make it difficult for the federal government to accomplish its goal of instituting a better tracking system.

"Why would we be saying, 'Come in and register,' and then turning around and whacking them with a stick when they do?" asked Jean Butterfield, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It chills the entire community. It frightens people."

Martinez said that only those who have violated immigration laws need to worry about detention or deportation orders. Those who have no criminal history but have overstayed their visas won't receive deportation orders if they can demonstrate that they have applied to update their immigration status, he said.

Those with arrest warrants or who are suspected of terrorist links will be detained or deported, Martinez said.

Immigration lawyers say the government needs to do a better job of letting people know who must register.

Male visitors at least 16 years old from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Libya were ordered to register with the INS by Monday. Temporary visitors from 13 other countries are required to register by Jan. 10.

Male visitors from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia who were born on or before Jan. 13, 1987, must register at an INS office at some point from Jan. 13 through Feb. 21.

While immigration lawyers say they encounter people who learn of the requirement to register late in the period, if at all, Martinez said the government has gone to extensive lengths to let people know about the program. He rejected assertions that not enough is being done to let people know they must register.

"Anyone's definition of enough is subjective," he said, adding that INS officials meet with community members, host town meetings, post fliers, and run radio and television ads to get the word out.

Those who do know about the program are afraid of what might happen to them if they go in to register, immigration lawyers say.

A description of the program on the INS Web site said those required to register will be photographed, fingerprinted, and interviewed under oath. They must bring their I-94 forms, which document their arrival and departure. They must also bring other documents "to show the interviewing officer that you are doing what you said you were going to do when you entered the United States."

Martinez said people who are required to register will have to wait for various lengths of time to be seen by an inspector, but the interview typically takes no more than 15 minutes.

Estelle Regolsky, chairwoman of the New England chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said lawyers in the region have told her that much more takes place during the inspections. Lawyers have told her that visitors have had to empty their wallets and submit credit card and other personal information.

"That's not true," Martinez said.

The inspectors have specific fields of data entry to complete. They ask a series of basic questions to complete the fields.

"We don't want to overwhelm the people or the INS," he said.

That concern for the increased workload is one reason why different countries have been added to the list in stages. Still, the increased workload for INS staffers slows the processing of other forms, immigration lawyers said.

Martinez said the Justice Department would like to see more funding for the INS to carry out the program. "Do we want unlimited resources? Of course we do," he said. "But we're not overwhelming INS by doing this."

Those who fail to register will be considered out of status and can be deported.

For Regolsky, the program takes the wrong approach. "To me, it's sad to see that we're singling out people and treating people differently," she said.