WHATEVER EXCUSE, IS FASCIST RACISM 2003

US clocks final Muslim visitors
Friday, 25 April, 2003, 17:30 GMT 18:30 UK BBCi
Muslims complain of prejudice under new measures

The deadline applies to nationals of Egypt, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kuwait and Indonesia - the last group of countries to be targeted under the post-11 September measures.

Males over sixteen have to be interviewed, fingerprinted and photographed.

Nearly 130,000 nationals from other states, most of them predominantly Muslim, met earlier, separate deadlines.

The Immigration Department says that, of this number, 2,310 have been detained and 9,888 have been given notice to appear for Immigration proceedings.

Officials say the move has reduced America's vulnerability to terrorism after the terror attacks on New York and Washington, but some lawyers representing immigrants say the law is ineffective and discriminatory.

'Laughable effort'

"They don't care if an immigrant is on the path to legal residency," said immigration lawyer Kamala Awash.

"They say, 'You have 90 days to leave the country'."

The executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Jeanne Butterfield, called the registration programme a "laughable effort" to combat terrorism because terrorists would not voluntarily register their presence in front of federal officials.

"Don't tell us this is designed to combat terrorism - it insults our intelligence," she said.

The measures have been strongly criticised within the targeted countries.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister, Churched Mahmud Kauri, said earlier this year that he would seek concessions on behalf of Pakistani nationals.

"The first Pakistani immigrants to the US were doctors, computer scientists, engineers and in the United States their contribution is recognised," he told the BBC.

"Our appeal to the American administration is going to be: Look at their track record; they have family values. They are people who not only support their families here - they support their families in Pakistan also."

The US Justice Department has denied that people are being unfairly treated because of race, stressing that judgements are based solely on intelligence matters and national security concerns.