February 1, 2004 - And You Thought it Only Happened to “Them”
A few weeks ago, I reprinted an editorial, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, describing the harrowing experience of a Middle-Eastern born Canadian citizen returning home to Canada through New York. Apparently, his face, name or place of birth set off an alarm somewhere in some deep dark database known only to those in power, and according to this man, he was detained, sent abroad, apparently tortured, and eventually, after months in captivity, returned to Canada. Many of us read his account and experience and think: “he had to have done something wrong: things like that just don’t happen to innocent people.” Well, in George Bush’s and John Ashcroft’s America they do, and it is happening all around us.
This morning, I opened my Los Angeles Times and read yet another editorial about the detention of another foreigner, this one here to visit his sister. This time, the man was an English citizen, employed by the English government, with only a single spot on his record – 26 years ago for cocaine possession. No matter, he was detained, denied his rights, and humiliated, without any apparent justification. Next time, your son, your uncle, your father, your brother, your cousin, or you could be writing the same op-ed piece. The Bush Administration is drunk with power and needs to be stopped:
Return to Sender
When American authorities can shackle, jail, humiliate and deport a plain British tourist, the question has to be asked: What has the U.S. become post-9/11?
By Rosi Hygate
Rosi Hygate, who was raised and educated in Britain, is a naturalized American citizen.
February 1, 2004
After nearly 10 years, my brother John was coming to Los Angeles from England to see me. Our mother had recently died, so it seemed especially important to be together. He would help me celebrate my birthday, then we would travel to Northern California.
John arrived at LAX at 2:45 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon last month. That was as close as he got to seeing me. After inspecting his passport, immigration officials informed him that there was a problem.
About 26 years ago, he was convicted in Britain of cocaine possession. He paid the required fine and never touched drugs again. In fact, he went on to work for more than 20 years for the British government as a prison liaison officer. But that wasn't good enough for the U.S.
Over the two days that followed his arrival, he was searched five times, fingerprinted 10 times and photographed again and again. Not until nearly three hours after he was originally detained was John even allowed to call me. By that time, I was extremely worried. On the phone, he asked me not to speak because he was not permitted to talk long or tell me anything other than that he was being sent back to the U.K. "I'm here and they are sending me back," he said.
Then the call was abruptly terminated. I subsequently found out that he had been handcuffed at the time, and the phone had been pulled away.
I was terrified and confused about what to do. My 58-year-old brother is a diabetic with high blood pressure and a heart condition. He is a solid, law-abiding citizen.
I immediately called a good immigration attorney, assuming things could be quickly resolved. I was shocked by what I learned. In this country, in the post-9/11 era, my brother has no rights, not even the right to go before a judge to plead his case. Nothing could be done. As the attorney said: "This is what immigration lawyers are up against under the Patriot Act."
Government officials testifying last week before the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks described reforms they say have tightened U.S. border security. But it seems like it should be possible to screen out genuine terrorist threats while still allowing tourists from Britain, our closest ally in the Iraq war, to visit family members here.
My brother, I know anecdotally, is not alone in being stopped at the border, and I suspect the problem is bigger than any of us realizes.
After my brother's phone call, I assumed he had been sent home. So the next day, I started calling him in the UK. There was no answer. My brother's daughter and my younger brother had not heard from him either. I was frantic. Was he in a hospital somewhere? Had he been detained?
My travel agent managed to get through to officials at United (the airline he flew in on) and learned that he had been taken to a "facility" in downtown Los Angeles. It was more than 24 hours after he was first taken into custody that we heard he was en route from downtown back to LAX for a 5:30 p.m. flight to London. I asked to speak to him at the airport. My request was denied.
I did not learn the complete story until my brother was once again on British soil. After being detained handcuffed and searched at LAX on Thursday afternoon, he was confined to a fairly comfortable room until 1 a.m. Friday. He was then moved to a jail facility in Los Angeles, where for nine hours he was placed in a holding cell with a sloping stainless steel bench designed to prevent anyone from lying down.
Sometime Friday afternoon he was taken back to LAX in handcuffs, paraded through the airport on legs now swollen from his diabetes and held back until all the other passengers had boarded. He was then walked down the aisle of the plane, still in handcuffs, and placed next to a terrified woman who had to be reassured that he was not dangerous. His passport was confiscated and given to a flight attendant, who kept it until the plane landed in London.
John was told by U.S. officials that if he had arranged for a visa before departing the UK, this whole thing would not have happened. Yet, according to the State Department, England is part of the visa waiver program that allows British citizens to come to the U.S. as tourists without visas.
One immigration officer suggested that John go to the U.S. Embassy in London, get a visa and return to the U.S. John's reply saddens me. He said, "My sister loves your country. I will never set foot in it again."
After an 11-hour flight, his swollen legs made worse by the confinement of a transcontinental flight, John arrived home. The British immigration officer who met him (he had to remain in his seat until all passengers had disembarked) apologized for what had happened, returned his passport and sent him home.
I have lived in the U.S. for 20 years. I became a citizen because I am proud of this country. I am disappointed in the way my country behaved toward my brother.
The British have been staunch allies of the U.S. But from my vantage point, it appears the loyalty goes in just one direction. Copyright 2004 Los Angeles TimesWhat have we become? There has to be a better way to protect us from harm than the allowing this Bush Administration to leverage our justifiable fears into an unconstitutional grab for power. We must stop this Administration from further eroding our civil rights and compromising the fundamental common decency that it at the very core of this nation. Common decency knows no race, religion, language or ethnicity. We get the government we deserve. It presumes one is innocent until proven guilty, and requires that government be held accountable for its actions. This government must be held accountable for what it is done in the name of security, and while doing so, answer me this: who is going to protect me for my government. Remember, we get the government we elect, which means we get the government we deserve. The managers of our government our employees we basically choose to promote. I think it is time for a review: better yet, it is time for new management.