By Tanya Weinberg, Staff Writer, January 7, 2003

As local groups called for the suspension of a federal registration program affecting mostly Muslim and Arab foreigners, South Florida Pakistanis are nervously preparing to comply starting Monday. ”The uncertainty and not knowing what’s going to happen to them when they go there is really getting people scared,” said immigration attorney Hina Askari. He is preparing to bring 200 Pakistani clients to the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Miami office to be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed in the third and largest phase of a new policy affecting men from 19 Muslim countries and North Korea. The detention of hundreds of Iranians who registered in Los Angeles last month has sparked widespread fear in the South Florida’s Muslim community, leaders say. The Justice Department says the policy, first applied to five countries in November, is designed to enhance national security, and that nationalities affected are selected on the basis of national security concerns and intelligence data.
The policy applies to males 16 or older who entered the country on visas but have not received permanent residency or applied for asylum. The Justice Department estimates that 14,000 Pakistani and Saudi men are required to register in the next phase, from Jan. 13 to Feb. 21. Pakistani leaders believe the number is closer to 100,000, including 2,000 or more in South Florida. Attorneys say many of the men have overstayed visas, but have petitioned the INS for permanent residency, as was the case with some of the Iranians detained in California. At least 400 men were detained on visa violations in the final week of the policy’s first phase, prompting angry demonstrations and a lawsuit against the federal government.
On Monday, representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the American Civil Liberties Union and several community organizations gathered at the INS Miami office to denounce the policy and call on Florida politicians to do the same. ”If we’re going to fight the war on terrorism and if we’re to make this country stronger and more immune to terrorism, it is going to require the cooperation of the Arab, South Asian and Muslim community. This is a program that only alienates this community,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. Altaf Ali of the Council on American Islamic Relations urged Florida senators to join Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, in their call for Attorney General John Ashcroft to suspend the registration program to allow for congressional review. ”Members of Congress are the ones who passed this legislation; it’s funny that members of Congress are protesting,” said Department of Justice spokesman Jorge Martinez. The Patriot Act requires an entry-exit registration system for all nationalities to be in place at ports of entry by 2005.Martinez said the new policy requiring males from certain countries to report to INS offices is necessary because potential terrorists might have entered the country before the initial phase of the port system was launched in September. Critics contend that potential terrorists will not voluntarily register and that recent news of detentions has dissuaded many others from complying. INS spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez would not release the numbers of men who have registered in South Florida or say whether any have been detained, citing INS and Justice Department policy. As Friday’s registration deadline nears for men from 13 countries to register in the policy’s second round, many Muslims will likely stay home, fearing arrest, said Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout of the Miami-based American Muslim Association of North America. ”That’s the whole thing, it’s not a wise thing to do by the administration,” he said. “If you want to catch a bird, don’t hold a knife in your hand.
“Tanya Weinberg can be reached at tweinberg@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5029.