God loves the Ninth Circuit
Syrian family seeking asylum wins reprieve in Ninth Circuit
Hamoui: "I still believe in America. I still believe in justice . . . ."
It should be noted at the outset that the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (P-I) is traditionally the more liberal of Seattle's two major newspapers. It is also the home newspaper of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist David Horsey.
(1) Skolnik, Sam. "INS moves to deport prominent Syrian." Seattle P-I, March 8, 2002. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/61449_ins08.shtml
(2) Jamieson, Robert L. "Grocer himself turned dream into nightmare." Seattle P-I, March 9, 2002. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/61613_robert09.shtml
(3) Iwasaki, John. "Syrian family's joy is muted." Seattle P-I. November 19, 2002. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/61449_ins08.shtml
(4) Olsen, Lisa. "Local INS director is abruptly replaced." Seattle P-I. December 20, 2002. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/100855_ins20.shtml
(5) Lange, Larry. "Speakers at Day of Remembrance warn of post-9/11 perils." Seattle P-I, February 10, 2003. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/107961_japanese10.shtml
(6) Editorial Board. "Defiant Justice Dept. makes no apologies." Seattle P-I, June 8, 2003. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/125457_righted8.html
(7) Editoral Board. "Justice with mercy due Syrian family." Seattle P-I, March 14, 2004. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/164568_familyed.html
(8) McGann, Chris. "Syrian's asylum hopes lifted in appeals court." Seattle P-I, March 30, 2004. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/166921_hamoui30.html
It goes on. In fact, if you're willing to get a free registration to the site, you can see the list of all their coverage of this story in the archive.
The Story So Far:
In 1992, Safouh Hamoui, a former Syrian military pilot came to the United states on a short-term tourist visa. As the P-I explains:
The arrests stem from the "Absconder Apprehension Initiative," quietly launched by Attorney General John Ashcroft in late January. The program targets 314,000 foreign nationals who have ignored past court orders to leave the country, with an initial focus on the 6,000 illegal immigrants from mostly Middle Eastern countries thought to be home to al-Qaida cells . . . .
. . . . According to court papers, Safouh Hamoui, 50, arrived in New York in October 1992 -- two months after Ismail, 42, and their two daughters entered in Los Angeles. All were admitted on short-term tourist visas.
Six months later, Safouh Hamoui requested asylum for himself and his family. Four years after that, in February 1997, an immigration judge denied the request, and ordered the family deported. The Justice Department's Board of Immigration Appeals rejected their appeal in 1998, and Hamoui appealed again, to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- the court of last resort.
Two years later, in June 2000, the family lost that petition as well, and were ordered to report to the INS for deportation. They never showed up. (1)
In the early going, P-I columnist Robert Jamieson, Jr., wrote,
Barring a miracle, the family will go. Some friends fear that if they are deported to Syria they'll be considered spies because they have been gone so long.
Hogwash! They could have been home much sooner, but they wanted to stay here in America, by any means necessary.
So they broke our rules. Now they have to face the consequences.
No exceptions allowed. (2)
And yet yesterday, the P-I reported on the latest development of this case. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has once again aimed its critical trumpets squarely at the federal government, and also noted a shoddy legal defense:
During a hearing in Seattle before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the harsh skepticism long focused on Safouh Hamoui -- a former Syrian pilot who came to this country in 1992 -- suddenly shifted to the government.
The three-judge panel blasted the Justice Department's handling of the immigration case and openly supported key contentions being raised by Hamoui's new lawyers.
The panel said it was clear that Hamoui had not received competent legal assistance. The appeals court also indicated that the Board of Immigration Appeals should have considered testimony outlining the dangers the Hamoui family faces if returned to Syria.
The bureau also misapplied the standard for "likely fear of torture" as outlined by the International Convention Against Torture, the appeals panel said.
Afterward, Justice Department lawyer Andrew MacLachlan had little to say.
"It was a good dialogue with the court," he said. (8)
And you know, the rest of the links are yours to read or not. They're mostly for your information if you're so inclined. The P-I has been vocal on the Hamoui story ... pretty much the entire time.
I'm of the opinion that this is one of the travesties of our War on Terror. These articles, of course, speak rather quite ill of the Syrian government, but hey, the US is following all manner of tyrant down the road to nowhere. I mean, the US government, especially in the PNAC age, ought to be waving this guy around like a banner--rubbing Syria's nose in it. And, yes, Clinton well could have done that nose-rubbing if he wanted to, but at least he didn't try to deport the guy in a panicked reaction to terrorism.
Yes. Sometimes we must challenge our own the rules if it's what's best for human beings. Mr. Jamieson's article opens with a simple question: "
Rules are rules, but sometimes they should be broken, right?"
Well ... yes. Not all rules are good rules. Sometimes rules do the wrong thing. In an age when politicians live by broken rules,
Yes, we can occasionally accommodate specific needs for the right reasons.
And so finds our Ninth Circuit.
The Hamoui family's case is one of the more powerful dramas of our War on Terror. Self-sufficient, respectably conducted in the community, family-oriented ... these are the sorts of people we should
want to bring to this country. I'm all for the poor, the tired, the huddled masses, but I tend to think that when you get right down to "political reality," people with the apparent qualities of the Hamoui family who also happen to feel as if they're on the run from a regime your government doesn't like . . . .
What? What am I missing?
Oh, yeah.
Knee.
Jerk.
On the east coast, where the sun rises, we have a statue that symbolically welcomes those who come to the United States with hopes for the future. And if they have to run all the way out here to the sunset before they can find Justice in America, then so be it.
And this on a waxing moon . . . .
