BY HARRY RING
LOS ANGELES - The First Amendment to the
Constitution - freedom of speech, press, and assembly - does
not apply to undocumented immigrants, according to the U.S.
Supreme Court. Its February 24 decision bars immigrants
without papers from challenging deportation orders in the
courts, even if their civil rights were violated or they are
targeted because of their political views. The ruling upheld
key undemocratic provisions of the 1996 Congressional
immigration "reform" statute.
The top court's ruling came in the long-fought case of the L.A. Eight. The seven Palestinians and one Kenyan were arrested by federal cops in 1987. The Immigration and Naturalization Service acted to deport them on the ground that they allegedly supported the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which Washington and Tel Aviv brand as "terrorist."
However, deportation was blocked when the eight filed suit in federal court. The Palestinian rights activists charged they had been targeted for deportation because of their political views. Such "selective" prosecution is illegal. The eight were backed by the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and a host of other organizations.
The present high court ruling overturned a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court, which had ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not allow "guilt by association." That is, in essence, the basis of Washington's case against the L.A. Eight. Among those scoring the Supreme Court decision was Michel Shehadeh, one of the L.A. Eight and, for the past several years, West Coast director of the ADC. In a telephone interview, Shehadeh assailed the ruling as "a great blow to civil liberties and a brutal attack on immigrant rights." According to law, none of the eight face instant deportation. Four have obtained "green cards" for residency on a renewable basis, or gained permanent residency. Two have residency on the basis of marriages to U.S. citizens. Shehadeh and Khader Hamide are longtime permanent residents, and as such are not deportable. The Justice Department, of which the Immigration Service is a division, has been trying to strip the two of their residency on the grounds of their solidarity with the PFLP. The case has dragged on for several years before an INS judge. The Los Angeles Times explained that the INS would not attempt to deport all of the several millions undocumented immigration because such an endeavor is beyond their resources. The number of deportations has sharply increased, however, to 169,072 in 1998 compared to 43,525 in 1992. And, the paper added, the Supreme Court decision will "give immigration officials greater leeway to move against those illegal immigrants who have come to their attention."