REPORT, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, "AMERICA'S DISAPPEARED: SEEKING INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE FOR IMMIGRANTS DETAINED AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, JANUARY 2004 An ACLU Report AMERICA'S DISAPPEARED: Seeking International Justice for "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile." -Article 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights "All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. S - Article 10, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ome were startled awake by an early morning knock at the door. For others, it began with an ominous visit at work, a rough interrogation after a routine traffic violation or an order barked from a van to pull over to the side of the road. In the days, weeks and months following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, hundreds of American immigrants were rounded up and detained, often under harsh or abusive conditions, in the name of keeping America safe. Not because of evidence (or even sound hunches) that they were involved in the terrorist attacks that brutally ended the lives of more than 3,100 people. Not because they were found to have ties to or even knowledge of - terrorist groups who might threaten American security in the future. Instead, hundreds of immigrants were arbitrarily snared in this dragnet, marked for arrest and thrown (literally, at times) in jail. The exact number is unknown, because the government refuses to release that information. They had one thing in common: Almost all were Arab or South Asian men, and almost all were Muslim. Speech given at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Recounted in the April 2003 report of the Inspector General of the Justice Department. "The September 11 Detainees: A Review of the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11 Attacks," p. 12. |