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Vol. 71/No. 8      February 26, 2007

 
U.S. judge halts deportation of two of Los Angeles 8
 
BY LAUREN HART  
LOS ANGELES—A federal immigration judge rejected on January 30 Washington’s attempt to deport Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh. Both are permanent residents of the United States. They are among seven Palestinians and one Kenyan known as the “L.A. Eight,” who have been threatened with deportation since their arrests in January 1987.

Throughout four presidencies, U.S. officials have tried to deport the L.A. Eight for carrying out legal political activities in support of the struggle for Palestinian rights. These activities include distributing newspapers, participating in demonstrations, and raising money for medical and other social needs in Palestine. None of the eight was ever charged with any crime.

Judge Bruce Einhorn terminated the latest deportation proceedings against Hamide and Shehadeh, citing “the government’s gross failure to comply” with an order to turn over “potentially exculpatory” evidence as a violation of the defendants’ constitutional rights. He stressed the length of time the case has continued, saying that “all things must come to an end.”

For the last 20 years, the case of the L.A. Eight has highlighted Washington’s use of immigration laws to restrict democratic rights. The eight, all of whom had legal residency or visas, were first charged with advocating “the doctrines of world communism,” a deportable offense under the 1952 witch-hunting McCarran-Walter Act. When Congress repealed that law in 1990, the government used the 1990 Immigration Act, then the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, and most recently the 2001 Patriot Act, to press its case for deportation.

“This is a vindication for us,” said Shehadeh in a phone interview. “It is confirmation of what we’ve been saying for a long time, that this is a political case. The government has no evidence we’ve done anything wrong.”

The latest ruling “is a big win, but it’s not the end of the war,” he added, saying he expects the government will appeal. “We’ve learned from the last 20 years that the government has deep pockets” and has been determined in its efforts against the L.A. Eight. The government has 30 days to appeal Einhorn’s decision.
 
 
Related articles:
Palestinian Americans score legal victory in ‘racketeering’ case  
 
 
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