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INS Deadline: Tracking Who's Here

Aired January 10, 2003 - 10:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Many people from other countries who are now in the U.S. say that they are worried about possible deportation under new INS registration rules. A deadline expires today for non-immigrants from 13 countries, most of them Arab nations, as well as North Korea. Registration requires fingerprinting and an interview under oath at an INS office.
CNN's Kelli Arena has been following this situation for us this morning in Washington, and she has an update for us now.

Hello -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well there are already a lot of lines at INS offices around the country of men wanting to register. At the office just outside Washington, D.C., some people started lining up before 5:00 this morning, even though many had registered before today's deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): Mhamed Lamine meets with his lawyer to make sure everything is in place before he reports to an immigration office to register. The 31-year-old Moroccan is in the country illegally, his visa expired. And he knows he faces being detained, but he says he has to register if he wants to stay.

MHAMED LAMINE, MOROCCAN: I fear them very, very much. I'm afraid that like 100 percent.

ARENA: Lamine entered this immigration office in Virginia and was taken into custody.

PAULINE SCHWARTZ, LAWYER: He was interviewed initially by one of the inspectors here with me present. But then afterwards, he was taken to a secure area of the inspections unit here and I was not allowed to accompany him.

ARENA: Similar detentions last month prompted major protests. More than 400 men like Lamine, foreigners without permanent status, were taken into custody on December 16, mostly in California. With new registration deadlines looming, protests continue around the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt that I had to do something to protest the registration, detentions.

ARENA: All told, 47 men are still in detention.

MICHAEL GARCIA, ACTING INS COMMISSIONER: But it is not a roundup, it is not a sting, it's a registration process where INS folks in these offices encounter people who are violating the law, they have an obligation to process them.

ARENA: No one is sure what to expect for the latest deadline. Men from 13 countries, including Afghanistan, Morocco, North Korea and Yemen must register and be fingerprinted. Critics say because of what happened last month, this time around a lot of people simply will not show up. And they say the government may be doing more harm than good in the war on terror.

DONALD KERWIN, CATHOLIC LEGAL IMMIGRATION NETWORK: Wouldn't it be smarter and more productive, rather than to shake the tree for law enforcement purposes, instead to cultivate positive long-term relationships.

ARENA: But U.S. officials staunchly defend the Entry-Exit Program.

GARCIA: To date, what we can show is 240 people stopped at the border who should not have been entering this country, including two people with known ties to terrorist organizations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: And currently young men from 20 countries are required to register. A federal judge ruled yesterday that the program is constitutional. Officials admit this policy is a work in progress, though senior government officials tell CNN that they expect two more countries to be added to the list in coming weeks -- Leon.

HARRIS: And, Kelli, what are you hearing from advocacy groups, are they for or against this policy?

ARENA: Well they think that it's a profiling policy and that if you're going to register non-immigrant -- non-immigrants in the United States that they should -- that should be a blanket policy. But yesterday after the federal judge ruled that this -- that this program was constitutional, and they know that there are several immigrants that are going to go in face possible deportation, most assuredly detention, they say that they can't in good faith urge people who come to them to go and register, even though this is the law now. And if they -- if they don't register, and if they are picked up for anything, they will most very assuredly be deported from the country for breaking the law.

So it's a -- you know while it is -- while it is something that they know they have to do, they say they are just not going to go out there and advise people who come to them to go to INS offices. So very tricky -- Leon.

HARRIS: Yes, and it may cause problems down the road, too.

ARENA: You bet. HARRIS: Kelli Arena in Washington. Thanks, Kelli, have a good one.

ARENA: You're welcome.

HARRIS: We'll see you soon.

ARENA: You too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 10, 2003 - 10:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Many people from other countries who are now in the U.S. say that they are worried about possible deportation under new INS registration rules. A deadline expires today for non-immigrants from 13 countries, most of them Arab nations, as well as North Korea. Registration requires fingerprinting and an interview under oath at an INS office.
CNN's Kelli Arena has been following this situation for us this morning in Washington, and she has an update for us now.

Hello -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well there are already a lot of lines at INS offices around the country of men wanting to register. At the office just outside Washington, D.C., some people started lining up before 5:00 this morning, even though many had registered before today's deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): Mhamed Lamine meets with his lawyer to make sure everything is in place before he reports to an immigration office to register. The 31-year-old Moroccan is in the country illegally, his visa expired. And he knows he faces being detained, but he says he has to register if he wants to stay.

MHAMED LAMINE, MOROCCAN: I fear them very, very much. I'm afraid that like 100 percent.

ARENA: Lamine entered this immigration office in Virginia and was taken into custody.

PAULINE SCHWARTZ, LAWYER: He was interviewed initially by one of the inspectors here with me present. But then afterwards, he was taken to a secure area of the inspections unit here and I was not allowed to accompany him.

ARENA: Similar detentions last month prompted major protests. More than 400 men like Lamine, foreigners without permanent status, were taken into custody on December 16, mostly in California. With new registration deadlines looming, protests continue around the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt that I had to do something to protest the registration, detentions.

ARENA: All told, 47 men are still in detention.

MICHAEL GARCIA, ACTING INS COMMISSIONER: But it is not a roundup, it is not a sting, it's a registration process where INS folks in these offices encounter people who are violating the law, they have an obligation to process them.

ARENA: No one is sure what to expect for the latest deadline. Men from 13 countries, including Afghanistan, Morocco, North Korea and Yemen must register and be fingerprinted. Critics say because of what happened last month, this time around a lot of people simply will not show up. And they say the government may be doing more harm than good in the war on terror.

DONALD KERWIN, CATHOLIC LEGAL IMMIGRATION NETWORK: Wouldn't it be smarter and more productive, rather than to shake the tree for law enforcement purposes, instead to cultivate positive long-term relationships.

ARENA: But U.S. officials staunchly defend the Entry-Exit Program.

GARCIA: To date, what we can show is 240 people stopped at the border who should not have been entering this country, including two people with known ties to terrorist organizations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: And currently young men from 20 countries are required to register. A federal judge ruled yesterday that the program is constitutional. Officials admit this policy is a work in progress, though senior government officials tell CNN that they expect two more countries to be added to the list in coming weeks -- Leon.

HARRIS: And, Kelli, what are you hearing from advocacy groups, are they for or against this policy?

ARENA: Well they think that it's a profiling policy and that if you're going to register non-immigrant -- non-immigrants in the United States that they should -- that should be a blanket policy. But yesterday after the federal judge ruled that this -- that this program was constitutional, and they know that there are several immigrants that are going to go in face possible deportation, most assuredly detention, they say that they can't in good faith urge people who come to them to go and register, even though this is the law now. And if they -- if they don't register, and if they are picked up for anything, they will most very assuredly be deported from the country for breaking the law.

So it's a -- you know while it is -- while it is something that they know they have to do, they say they are just not going to go out there and advise people who come to them to go to INS offices. So very tricky -- Leon.

HARRIS: Yes, and it may cause problems down the road, too.

ARENA: You bet. HARRIS: Kelli Arena in Washington. Thanks, Kelli, have a good one.

ARENA: You're welcome.

HARRIS: We'll see you soon.

ARENA: You too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com