Feature Archives

1/10: Hundreds of people gathered outside the INS offices in SF today, calling for an end to the detentions and forced registrations of non-citizen immigrants and visitors from 18 Arab and Muslim countries. Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4    Audio: 1 | For more information about upcoming INS protests, listen to this audio interview by SF Liberation Radio.

Hundreds of Middle Eastern immigrants are in California jails after coming forward to comply with the new rule, which was put into effect on 12/16. to register with immigration authorities, only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars. Those who fail to comply with the new ruling face criminal charges and immediate expulsion from the country.

A lawyer describes the detainees as legal residents who in some cases may not have their paperwork in order due to government backlog. Islamic community leaders say many detainees had been living, working and paying taxes in the US for up to a decade and had families there. IMC-LA | IMC-San Diego

First they came for the Islamic Fundamentalists and I did not speak out because I was not an Islamic Fundamentalist. Then they came for those from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan and I did not speak out because I was not from those countries Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me

12/23: The INS has detained hundreds of individuals from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan who voluntarily went to the INS office to register. Ms. Banafsheh Akhlaghi, an attorney from San Francisco, reports that the detainees have been treated inhumanely: shackled, standing for hours, no drinking water, 2-3 hours sleep, and confinement. Many of the detainees of the Los Angeles branch of the INS have been released, many without bail. However, detainees are still in jail, some since Dec. 5th, in other regions including many from the Bay Area. Photos   Video   Audio

On Tuesday, 12/17 at 7pm, Oakland Councilmembers Nancy Nadel and Ignacio de la Fuente, will introduce a resolution to oppose the USA PATRIOT Act. The resolution, drafted by the Oakland Civil Rights Defense Committee, resolves that the City of Oakland shall not voluntarily cooperate with investigations, interrogations, or arrest procedures that are in violation of individuals’ civil rights. If passed, Oakland will become the 19th city in the nation to pass such a resolution. Supporters are invited to gather on the steps of Oakland City Hall at One Frank Ogawa Plaza preceding the Council Meeting starting at 6:30pm.

Hundreds of Middle Eastern immigrants are in California jails after coming forward to comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities, only to wind up handcuffed and behind bars. On 12/18, Iranians and others missing family members protested outside the INS office in Los Angeles. As originally reported on 12/16, a new order issued by Attorney General Ashcroft requires male non-citizen immigrants and visitors from 18 Arab and Muslim countries to be interviewed, photographed, fingerprinted and registered by federal authorities. Those who fail to comply face criminal charges and immediate expulsion from the country.

A lawyer describes the detainees as legal residents who in some cases may not have their paperwork in order due to government backlog. Islamic community leaders say many detainees had been living, working and paying taxes in the US for up to a decade and had families there. The INS refuses to release figures on the number of immigrants detained in the past week; corporate media reports that nationwide about 1/4 of the registrants are now in crowded detention centers.

This week, the largest consolidation of law enforcement power in the United States' history became a reality. Largely making legal what the US Government has done for years, the Homeland Security Department has already sparked an underground movement against it. Some more latest news:
• Policing the Net: A last-minute addition to the homeland security act gives the government greater power in attacking and policing the internet.
• USA's Chief Terrorist: Convicted terrorist John Poindexter is the new director of an all-seeing government computer database which will keep unprecedented information about all of us.
• Hypocrisy: In the past, Chief Gestapo John Ashcroft was concerned about privacy and government powers.

strong>11/15: Over 1000 people who are considered "threats to aviation" by the CIA, FBI or INS are on a list and are not permitted on flights under any circumstances. Even some on the center-left liberal groups, not exactly your typical threat to air passengers, have been placed on the list. "[A loose-leaf binder] open, and while they were questioning me, I discreetly looked at it," a Ralph Nader campaign manager who was stopped and questioned said. "It had a long list of organizations, and I was able to recognize the Green Party, Greenpeace, EarthFirst and Amnesty International." Full story

ToTaL iNfOrMaTiOn AwArEnEsS ::: And in what makes the PATRIOT Act look like a duck without wings, the Homeland (In)Security Agency Bill is poised to pass a Senate vote next week. The bill would, among other things, allow for the creation of the Total Information Awareness System, a massive electronic surveillance program that would search for patterns of “terrorist activity” in reams of public and private computer data and records. Read more

Hundreds of angry workers, police victims, and youth marched through the streets of Oakland yesterday demanding an end to police brutality.

The crowd, largely dressed in black attire, marched from 14th and Broadway to the central Oakland police station where police were denounced as an occupying force in poor communities in the U.S. The march ended with a rally at Frank Ogawa P laza in front of city hall, where the families of victims mourned their loved on es, and local youth spoke out against the police. A number of local hip-hop groups also performed.

There were 15-20 police officers on hand, but no major confrontations took place . There were no arrests.

The organizing group, the October 22nd Coalition said that over two thousand people have been murdered by police in the United States since 1990.

Pictures 1 | 2. The October 22nd Coalition