Thousands more males age 16 and older from Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Bangladesh will be required to register with US immigration authorities in the latest expansion of a post-September 11 program that has drawn strenuous protest.
In addition, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service will give long-term visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria who missed a December 16 deadline another chance to register without penalty, said two Bush administration officials, speaking on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
Inclusion of the five latest countries will affect thousands of long-term male visitors to the United States, the largest group since the program began last fall, officials said. The expansion was to be formally announced on Thursday. Under a program enacted by Congress in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, males 16 and older from 25 countries are required to visit local INS offices to be photographed and fingerprinted and show certain documents. Some countries included are considered potential havens for terrorists.
Different deadlines have been imposed for different countries. The biggest group to this point is the 14 000 men and boys from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan who must register by February 21. Hundreds of people, mainly Iranians, were detained in Southern California last month when the registration deadline arrived for the first group of visa holders.
That prompted angry demonstrations and a lawsuit against the federal government. Most were detained because their visas had expired and were released pending a hearing on their cases.
Since those detentions, the Justice Department has embarked on a more intensive campaign to justify the program and ensure that affected people get notified. The registration is part of a broader INS plan to set up, by 2005, a comprehensive system detailing who is entering, leaving and staying in the United States. Long-term visitors to the United States from Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Bangladesh will have from February 24 to March 28 to register at local INS offices. This does not affect US citizens, diplomats, refugees or permanent resident aliens — those holding ”green cards.”
Most of those required to register are in the United States as students or business travelers or are visiting relatives. Immigration lawyers say many people are afraid to come forward, in part because of an INS backlog that can snarl their paperwork and make them vulnerable to deportation if their visas expire while they are awaiting a final outcome of their cases.
”In light of the mass, warrantless arrests, which we believe to be illegal, it is difficult for us to recommend, in good faith, for people to come forward to register,” Pete Schey, an attorney for several immigrants in California, said earlier this month. INS officials believe fear, lack of knowledge about the programme and the large crowds might have prevented many from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria from registering. The INS will open a grace period from January 27 to February 7 for men and boys who missed the first registration deadline, Bush administration officials said. – Sapa-AP