BY HARRY RING
LOS ANGELES - The government suffered another setback in its drive to deport the Los Angeles 8 when a federal appeals court panel upheld two key decisions won earlier by the activists. For a decade, the Justice Department and its Immigration division have been trying to deport seven Palestinians and a Kenyan on the claim that their political solidarity with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) constitutes support of "terrorism."

Early on, the eight filed a federal suit to stop their deportations on the ground that they had been politically targeted for selective prosecution. Recently, Justice Department lawyers moved to have this case thrown out of court arguing that such suits were retroactively barred by the 1996 "Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act."

Judge Stephen Wilson rejected the government lawyers' argument, ruling that the new law cannot stop immigrants from taking the government to court when constitutional issues are involved. The Justice Department took its case to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. On July 11 a three- judge panel of the appeals court unanimously upheld Wilson's ruling.

The panel also upheld Wilson's ruling that immigrants and citizens alike have the right to support the legal activities of the PFLP. It noted that despite its assertions about "terrorism," the Justice Department did not challenge Wilson's finding that the organization engages in a range of legal activities.

The Circuit Court decision also backed Wilson's finding that the LA 8 had been targeted for selective prosecution. It pointed to the evidence introduced by the activists that the government had not acted against individuals who raised funds for the counterrevolutionary Nicaraguan contras.  
 
 
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