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The Dallas Morning News - June 19, 2008
ACLU wants Muslim groups removed
from Holy Land co-conspirators list
By JASON TRAHAN
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a request in Dallas federal court Wednesday (June 18) to have two Muslim organizations removed from a list of unindicted co-conspirators compiled by prosecutors in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case.
Both the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) argue in court papers filed by ACLU lawyers with U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis that they are mainstream Muslim organizations that have been unfairly branded criminals by being included on the government's list.
A similar request not made through the ACLU was filed in August by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group, to have its name removed from the unindicted co-conspirators list. It is still pending.
The unindicted co-conspirators list consists of about 300 names of individuals and entities allegedly linked in some way to the Holy Land case. Prosecutors have said they compiled the list so that statements from people in the named organizations could be used at trial without them being considered hearsay.
Last year, five former organizers of the formerly Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation were tried on charges that they funneled millions of dollars to the violent Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government for its targeting of Israelis. Holy Land was once the largest Muslim charity in the U.S.
The case ended in mistrial last fall. The retrial is set for Sept. 8…..
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-holyland_19met.ART0.North.Edition1.b0be6e.html
ADC Press Release – June 25, 2008
ADC expresses concern over the collection of alien biometric data
On June 23, 2008, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a comment with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the proposed rule of collecting alien biometric data upon exit from US air and sea ports of departure.
Under DHS's current US-VISIT program, Customs and Border Protection officers or Department of State consular offices overseas collect biometrics - digital finger scans and photographs - of non-US citizens seeking to enter the United States. These biometrics are then checked against government databases "to identify suspected terrorists, known criminals or individuals who have previously violated US immigration laws."
On April 22, DHS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish an exit program under the current US-VISIT program. The proposed rule requires commercial airlines and vessel carriers to collect non-US citizens' biometrics before departing the US, and then submit them to DHS.
In its comment, ADC supported the proposed rule, so long as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program is simultaneously and completely terminated, and proper legal safeguards and guarantees are in place ensuring that commercial airlines and vessel carriers will not abuse the collection of biometric data.
Here is the text of the ADC’s letter to the Department of Homeland Security expressing three concerns about the program:
On behalf of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), we write you to support the additional collection of biometric data upon exit from the United States at air and sea ports of departure that the Department of Homeland Security proposed on April 22, 2008.
ADC, which is non-partisan and non-sectarian, is the largest grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Arab-Americans. ADC was founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk to combat racism, discrimination, and stereotyping of Americans of Arab descent. ADC coordinates its efforts closely with US federal, state, and local government agencies in facilitating open lines of communication with the Arab-American community. With headquarters in Washington, DC, and officers in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan and California, ADC has 38 chapters and members across the nation. ADC is also a member of the Executive Committee for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).
While ADC welcomes the DHS’s proposed additional collection of biometric information upon exit from the United States, ADC has three specific suggestions/concerns regarding the proposed program. First, while this is a commendable action to ensure that immigration laws are enforced, ADC firmly believes the NSEERS program needs to be terminated in its entirety when the US-VISIT exit procedures are implemented. Second, ADC urges DHS to address the current weaknesses in the US-VISIT program before expanding it. Third, ADC calls on DHS to ensure that airlines collecting biometric data from passengers do not use such information in any way, shape or form for commercial purposes.
Below are the above-mentioned suggestions and concerns in detail:
1. NSEERS must be fully terminated when implementing the new US-VISIT exit procedures.
Under the proposed changes, in addition to the current collecting of biometric data from all passengers upon entry to the United States, airlines will be granted the ability to collect such information from all non-U.S. Citizens and non-permanent residents upon exit. Until now, those who are asked to register at airports prior to leaving the United States are those who have registered under the NSEERS program.
If the proposed rule to the US-VISIT program is implemented, the exit procedures for both NSEERS and US-VISIT need to be consolidated. Such consolidation will eliminate the confusion individuals from NSEERS countries will have to go through; otherwise, these individuals will be subject to the requirements of both the NSEERS and US-VISIT exit procedures, which are similarly structured for purposes of identifying aliens in terms of the duration of their stay in the US, and as to whether they have violated their immigration status.
The scenario of having individuals from NSEERS countries register twice will duplicate efforts and waste resources. Therefore, ADC urges that NSEERS be terminated when the new US-VISIT exit procedure takes effect. Moreover, not consolidating the two systems will once again highlight the underlying discriminatory nature of NSEERS, because only individuals from certain countries will have to undergo two registrations upon exit. Finally, NSEERS outlived any constructive purpose it may have once served since none of the 84,000 registrants were charged with terrorism.
2. DHS needs to address the current weaknesses of the US-VISIT program prior to expanding it.
While ADC supports the implementation of the proposed program, ADC urges that the current weaknesses in the USVISIT program be addressed prior to incorporating the exit component of the program. A July 2007 report issued by the General Accountability Office cited several weaknesses. The program did not a) adequately identify and authenticate users in systems supporting US-VISIT, b) sufficiently limit access to US-VISIT information systems, c) ensure controls were adequately protected external and internal network boundaries, d) consistently encrypt sensitive data transmitted through the communication network or e) ensure that responsibilities and authorization for use of the information systems were adequately segregated to maintain secure configurations in the use of data. These weaknesses should be addressed in order for the program to be fully successful.
3. Legal safeguards and guarantees must be in place to ensure that airlines will not abuse the biometric data. Under the proposed changes, airlines will be able to collect biometric data from all non-U.S. Citizens and non-permanent residents upon exit. This process involves the acquisition and retention of extremely sensitive personal information. For instance, iris and retinal scans can reveal certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure, pregnancy and AIDS. Fingerprints may reveal whether a person is suffering from Turner syndrome, Klinefleter Syndrome, Down Syndrome, leukemia, breast cancer, rubella, and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction disorder.
Therefore, by granting air and sea carriers the power and responsibility of collecting such personal sensitive information, it is imperative that proper legal safeguards and guarantees be in place to ensure that this information is not exploited through retention or distribution of such data by third-parties. ADC is concerned of potential abuse of information by the airlines, which might be immune if proper oversight and regulation are not implemented.
For all these reasons, ADC believes that the proposed rule to the US-VISIT program for collection of alien biometric data upon exit from the United States should be adopted, but only with the simultaneous termination of the NSEERS program, and with proper legal safeguards in place to ensure that airlines are not abusing the collection of biometric data. We strongly urge DHS to take these suggestions and concerns into consideration when implementing the proposed rule to the US-VISIT program.
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