Immigrants Speak: A Documentary Project
A project of the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), housed at the National Outreach Department at ACCESS.
Sample Testimonies
Special Registration
A 4.0 Saudi Arabian PhD student, father and husband, at Wayne State University went to a local Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) office to comply with the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) requirement, also known as special registration. The BCIS officer charged the student for failing to keep his Saudi Arabian passport valid and was put into deportation proceedings. The student was able to renew his passport in one day, but BCIS still has him in deportation proceedings and he was denied on a motion to reinstate his status. In the past, this was treated as a minor violation and students were asked to renew their passports immediately without legal consequences. (December 2002)
A 19 year old outstanding athlete from Algeria attended Western Michigan University while playing on their tennis team. He resided in the U.S. on a student visa which required him to comply with the NSEERS requirement. Due to a car accident, he was one day past the deadline for Algerian Nationals to special register. The failure to register with NSEERS must be proven to be not willful on the part of the visa holder. Although documents were available to show the circumstances for the “one day” past the deadline, the local BCIS office charged the student with failure to comply with NSEERS. On top of his legal problems, fellow students observed wetness under his arm pits (sweat from tennis practice) and accused him of spreading anthrax. The student was distraught by these experiences, so he finished up the semester and returned to Algeria. (December 2002)
Two Saudi Arabian brothers residing in the United States on student visas went to a local Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) office to comply with the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (Special Registration) requirement. Their international student advisor at their school advised them incorrectly about the procedures in transferring schools. Prior to the implementation of the new policies by the executive branch, students were asked to fix the mistake. However, these two brothers were told that they were a “threat to national security.” The students were intimidated by these claims and left as soon as the semester was over. (February 2003)
Deportation
A legal permanent resident (Jordanian National) of 10 years was charged with a minor offense. He hired an attorney to deal with any complications that this may have on his status in the U.S. The attorney was told that the offense would not be treated as a felony and asked that the individual come personally to the local BCIS office. When the individual went to the local BCIS office, he was immediately put into custody and deportation proceedings to deport were underway. Prior to the current administration’s policies, these types of offenses were not considered a basis for detainment or deportation. The case went to court and the Judge agreed that the crime committed was not sufficient for deportation and issued a bond. However, the immigration officials appealed, which prolonged the individual’s detainment which led to his decision to voluntarily depart the U.S., his family’s home for the last 10 years. After the individual departed the U.S. the appeal was denied in his favor, but it was too late. (February 2002)
Lack of Due Process and Detention
Hatim Sous, a Palestinian National on a visitor visa traveled to the United States on October 26, 2000 and was immediately taken into custody and detained at the airport. He was detained for six and half months where he was interrogated for 16 hour periods and endured sleep deprivation and was later hospitalized. He was allowed access to a hearing after a one month period. Mr. Sous filed for asylum. The U.S. was not able to provide enough evidence to show cause for his immediate deportation. Evidence found in Mr. Sous luggage and a record of an arrest in Israel at the age of 16 years was found insufficient. He has not been able to resolve his case after having eight immigration court hearings, including an eight hour court session. He has been unsuccessful in retrieving his belongings taken from him five years ago. (October 2000)
A U.S. citizen mother traveling with her 2 year old daughter and husband, a legal permanent resident of Yemen nationality, on August 9, 2004 through the Port of Entry at Niagara Falls, New York/Canada. They were asked to pull over to the side after answering a few questions. The time was approximately 9:30 a.m. They sat in their vehicle for twenty minutes before border security officials resumed their questioning about the family’s trip and the reason for the trip. They were asked to fill out a green form that indicated they did were not smuggling anything into the U.S. Then border officials separated the couple and took the husband inside the border security offices. The car was taken into a garage where it was searched without the presence of either the wife or husband. Officers went through her purse and the luggage. All documents were removed and taken inside. One officer was at a computer unit and looking at her check book while entering data from it.
The husband was put in a room where he remained for 30 minutes without any questioning. Then officers asked him more questions about his trip to Buffalo and his stay in Niagara Falls. The requested all the names, addresses, birthdates and occupations of the family members they visited. They fingerprinted the husband and wife as well as took their picture using a camera attached to the computer unit. The family was finally released at 12:15 p.m. They refuse to travel through Canada again. (August 2004)
Heather Rose Gnaien is a U.S. citizen married to a Tunisian National. They married on December 31, 2002 and the husband special registered on January 7, 2003. He was detained for 4 days and had a bond set of $10,000. Their lawyer helped to get his bond set and then helped them file the proper immigration documents. It was only within the last week that they were scheduled for a marriage fraud interview and only after they called the court to request the appointment for the husband to get his fingerprints done. They encountered many delays along the way, including one INS (now USCIS) officer sending their petition back to be completed when it was already complete. They have their third master court hearing scheduled on December 1st and their marriage fraud interview is on October 25th. (January 2003)
Nabil Amen is a citizen of the United States who was traveling from Canada into the U.S. via the Ambassador Bridge with his two children age 13 and 5 (boys), along with his wife (LPR) and his sister-in-law on Tuesday, December 7, 2004 at 11:55 p.m. The family was stopped by U.S. Customs and detained for more than 4 hours (11:55 p.m. to 3 a.m.).
An officer asked the typical questions including what is Mr. Amen’s citizenship. Mr. Amen informed the officer that his wife is a legal permanent resident and his sister in law is a Canadian citizen. Officer requested proof and Mr. Amen gave it to him where officer began scanning and reviewing the documents. Then the officer began questioning the ownership of Mr. Amen’s vehicle. Mr. Amen replied that he owned it.
The officer then told Mr. Amen to turn the car ignition off and to hand over the keys. Mr. Amen was then told to step out of the vehicle. Three officers from the front approached the families’ vehicle and three from the back. The officer in the booth (the one asking questions) put his hand on his gun and position himself in a defensive mode. Mr. Amen was then pulled out and turned around and handcuffed in front of his two children and wife. Mr. Amen asked them what this was about. But they only replied that they would tell him later. They took him inside the offices nearby and while being escorted in Mr. Amen insisted on the reasoning for the arrest and they continued to tell him that he will know later.
A different officer (behind computer) asked if he had ever had problems crossing over the bridge. He mentioned that he crossed the day before without problems. Mr. Amen told him that this is the first time he has ever been handcuffed or arrested for anything in his life. He never even received a traffic ticket. And then 15 minutes later, an officer un-handcuffed him and escorted him to another room. So the officer remained in the room staring at me. They kept him there for approximately for three hours.
At one point, Mr. Amen needed to go to the bathroom and he was escorted by an officer passing several people including his children waiting in the lobby who became very terrified at the site of their father being handcuffed by an armed officer. The armed officer remained at the door while Mr. Amen used the bathroom. Later, an officer asked him about everyone in the car and showed him their information. The officer photocopied their documents. When they released him an officer gave him brochures about his rights and that if he wanted to take it further then he would have to follow the directions in the brochure.
Muafaq T. Albaneh is a United States Citizen traveling with his elderly mother from Yemen (via air travel through U.S. Customs in Canada). Mr. Albaneh said that he believed them to be U.S. Customs (they wore dark blue uniforms). Their luggage was searched and the officer disrespectfully rummaged through their personal belongings leaving it very disoriented. Mr. Albaneh had to go back and organize his belongings to equalize the weight of the bags to make sure they compile with the airline requirements. The officer even touched some sweets from a can with his bear hands and returned it back into the container. Mr. Albaneh had to dispose of the whole can of sweets. Some of the questions that were asked of Mr. Albaneh were disturbing. One officer wanted to know his specific job duties.
Mrs. Albaneh is diabetic with high blood pressure and she had to go through this 4 hour search and detention. It was hard for him to see his mother suffer through the wait. He had to carry her oxygen tank (which she received clearance for prior to the flight). Mr. Albaneh, to assure her comfort during the flight, booked his mother a first class ticket, which was cancelled after they were not able to make their flight because of the lengthy detention. The next flight out did not contain any first class seating. This was very upsetting for Mr. Albaneh who paid for better accommodations for his sick mother. He felt that his rights were violated and disrespected by the officer as they questioned him and went through his personal belongings. (April 2004)
In a separate incident, U.S. citizen Muafaq T. Albaneh was traveling with his son (USC) and three nephews (USC) from Ontario back into the United States via the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, Michigan. They were detained from 8 p.m. -12:00 a.m. The officer, after putting a sticker on his vehicle, told him to pull over to the side and go to the “Immigration Officer.” As his car was being searched, Mr. Albaneh went inside where the officer had him wait for 30 minutes. The officer had given him a form in Spanish (blue form). Mr. Albaneh requested an English version of the form, so after filling out the correct form, he and his family waited for another hour before they called him to go inside. There he was put into a small room where four officers and he fit. Three officers were sitting (across from him) while one stood next to him. An officer told him to remove all his belongings and place them on the table.
The questioning included inquiry into Mr. Albaneh’s occupation as a realtor. And an officer made an odd comment stating to Mr. Albaneh that “you must know a lot of people in your line of work.” The officer kept repeating that statement during the questioning. When Mr. Albaneh handed over his business card, the officers told him to leave and wait for them.
When Mr. Albaneh was told to return, the officer resumed questioning. The officers inquired about Mr. Albaneh’s old residence and whether he knew of a gentleman who resided at the same address. They asked Mr. Albaneh if he would corroborate with the government in finding this man. They repeated this request at least five times. Mr. Albaneh repeatedly answered back to them that he would need more information about the man before he could help. Then they told him again to seat outside and wait. When he returned, again he repeated the question above. Mr. Albaneh felt very frustrated and asked that they provide him with more than the name of the man. Mr. Albaneh was detained for more than 5 hours before he was let go, which was some time after midnight. Mr. Albaneh did observe, while he waited, other families being mistreated with officers shouting at them in an intimidating and humiliating manner. (June 2004)