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Home My WebLink About2003-12-04 Human Relations Advisory Committee MinutesI tlrLD HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEEi C LER K MINUTES _,.;S. M1 ss. December 4, 2003 at Police Station First Floor Community Room lc°t `�� - P 4` 3 Present: Margaret Soli, Chair, Chief R. Silva, J. Keigley, C. McDonald, E. Toland and P. Kelley, members, Nancy Murray, invited speaker, K. Linn, Town Librarian, responder and a number of members of the public. The meeting was called to order by Ms. Soli, Chair, at 7:35 PM. She introduced Nancy Murray of the American Civil Liberties Union, Massachusetts who addressed the group on the topic of the Patriot Act. Ms. Murray described how in September of 2003 the government asked for additional powers under the Patriot Act and numerous people had come out to protest and she noted that it was important to speak out in opposition to such greater powers quoting a statement from Justice Douglas to the effect that, as night does not fall all at once, neither does oppression, for at first there is twilight and we must be aware of the twilight. For non -citizens the darkness has arrived under circumstances which are a reminder of the police state. She detailed some seeming abuses for Muslims and alleged `enemy aliens' which have been criticized by human rights organizations including Amnesty International. Many feel that these things are a price that must be paid for security but they have given rise to ethnic and religious profiling and have been criticized by reports of ajoint Congressional Committee. She noted that prior to September 11, there were at least 12 intelligence agency reports that Bin Laden might act and more could have been done to ® prevent him. The Patriot Act is a battery of things including anti -terrorism measures and changes in the immigration law, making distinctions between citizens entitled to various constitutional protections and non -citizens who are not, permitting the monitoring of conversations between a lawyer and the client, surveillance of domestic groups without evidence of a crime, monitoring anti -war demonstrations, overly broad definitions of "terrorist activity" and "domestic terrorism" which may render one subject to search and surveillance without court oversight, sharing of grand jury testimony, interception of credit card records, demanding tangible things from libraries without the need to show any wrongdoing, and secret FISA courts. She cited several reports alleging that the Act has been used in connection with minor legal infractions rather than terrorism, in political investigations and as a tool against joumalists. The substance of her presentation is contained in three handouts made available following the meeting which are attached hereto and incorporated herein: 1. The USA Patriot Act: A Civil Liberties Briefing. 2. Immigrants & The "War On Terrorism": A Civil Liberties Briefing, and 3. Patriot Act 11 Must Be Stopped! Following Ms. Murray's presentation, Kimberly Linn, Town Librarian, commented with respect to the issues affecting the library. Although Attorney General Ashcroft said that librarians were responding hysterically, she said that they have their reasons because the government can get access to library records without cause while librarians have an obligation not to disclose ® information about their clients. She cited reported instances of a search made in Connecticut without a warrant and a situation in New Jersey where a person reading non-English material was held in custody for several days. She stated that 48 states protect the confidentiality of library data and the reading public expects confidentiality. The Reading Public Library keeps as little amount of such records of its clients as is possible and a Library Journal Magazine article has described this issue of confidentiality as a long struggle. Police Chief Silva followed with comments from a police perspective. He said it was healthy to discuss these issues. The Patriot Act concerns the power of Federal agencies but in Massachusetts the police enforce local laws. Terrorism has been with us for years and we have been dealing with it. A lot of the provisions of the Patriot Act were being discussed before September 11 but they were pushed through after that event. At the conclusion Ms. Murray commented that a decision, that an alien had no right to a lawyer because we were at war, was being appealed to the Supreme Court, that if someone sent money to Iraq which got into the hands of terrorists, the person could be investigated and that the Criminal Alien removal Act could involve local police. In closing she invited those present to take copies of her handouts. The chair congratulated the speakers on an enlightening presentation and adjourned the meeting at 9:05 fust reminding those present of the Martin Luther King celebration on January 19. espectffuul�ly submitted, a . Ke ec tary L_I On October 26, 2001 the US Congress passed, and President Bush signed into law, the USA PA- TRIOT Act, an acronym for "Uniting and Strength- ening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Re- quired to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." The US Senate voted 98-1 for the bill, with only Senator Russ Feingold (D -WI) opposing it. The House voted 357-66 to pass it. In Massachusetts, Reps. Delahunt Lynch, Markey, Meehan and Neal supported the Act while Reps. Capuano, Frank, McGovern, Olver and Tierney opposed it. This far-ranging Act contains "the sense of the Congress that ... the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans, including Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and Americans from South Asia, must be protected, and that every effort must be taken to preserve their safety." Why then have so many con- cerns been expressed about its impact on the civil liberties of both Americans and non citizens? criminal proceeding, and expands the ability of the government to spy through wiretaps, computer sur- veillance, access to medical, financial, business and educational records and secret searches of homes and offices. • It undermines due process procedures guar- anteed by the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amend- ments, and partly extended to non -citizens in over a century of Supreme Court rulings, by permitting the government to detain non -citizens indefinitely even if they have never been convicted of a crime. What the Act means for non -citizens • They can be arrested and held until deported if they are members of, have raised funds for or pro- vided some kind of material support to an organi- zation designated as "terrorist" by the Secretary of State, or for an organization which is not on the list of terrorist groups, but which at some point had d' rt f 1 tactivi whichcould The Act cuts back on Constitutional checks and balances, and Bill of Rights protections. • It gives sweeping new powers of detention and surveillance to the Executive branch of govern- ment and law enforcement agencies, and deprives the Courts of meaningful judicial oversight to en- sure that these law enforcement powers are not be- ing abused. • It gives the Secretary of State the authority to designate any group, foreign or domestic, as a ter- rorist organization, an authority that is not subject to review. • It defines in Secion 802 the crime of "domes- tic terrorism" as "activities that (A) involve acts dan- gerous to human life that are a violation of the crimi- nal laws of the US or of any state; (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian popu- lation; (ii) to influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the con- duct of a government by mass destruction, assassi- nation or kidnapping." • It permits investigations based on lawful First Amendment activity if that activity can be tied some- ® how to intelligence purposes. • It undermines the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment by eroding the line between intelligence gathering and gathering evidence for a engage in so o vro enty have made it eligible for inclusion on the list. A lim- ited appeals process gives an arrested person the opportunity to demonstrate that "he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the solicitation [of funds] would further the organization's terrorist activity." • They can continue to be detained if they have never been convicted of a crime, but the Attorney General "certifies" that he has "reasonable grounds to believe" that their release will endanger "the na- tional security of the United States or the safety of the community or any person." After being charged with either an immigration or criminal offense within seven days, they can be held indefinitely, with the Attorney General reviewing their certification every six months. Under the Act their attorneys can initiate habeas corpus proceedings only to the US Su- preme Court, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia or a district court with jurisdiction • if they are ordered to be deported, but no country will take them, they can be imprisoned for life in the US. • Individuals believed to be members of for- eign terrorist organizations or of any group that publicly endorses terrorist acts, as well as their spouses and children, are denied entry to the US under this Act. What the Act means for citizens and non -citizens • The Act eliminates much of the judicial over- sight established in the 1970s after revelations that the CIA and FBI were spying on over half a million Americans during and after the McCarthy era, and opens the door widely to new possibilities of abuse. • Law enforcement officials no longer are tied by the rules of criminal law before conducting searches in criminal cases if an intelligence link can be shown. People can be subjected to roving wire- taps or have their homes and offices secretly searched in criminal investigations without a dem- onstration of "probable cause" of a crime. Surveil- lance can follow a targeted individual to any com- puter or telephone he or she might use based on a single warrant that canbe used anywhere in the US. • Internet communication can be spied on if law enforcement agents tell a judge that this surveillance is "relevant" to an ongoing criminal investigation. Computers and phones can be monitored by the CIA and FBI without their having to demonstrate use by a suspect or a target of a court order. If the FBI certifies to a court that it needs this information to conduct an "intelligence" investigation, it can ob- tain access to sensitive educational, medical, finan- cial, mental health and other personal records. • Information collected in formerly secret grand jury hearings or through wiretaps in a criminal case can be disclosed to intelligence agencies if that in- formation is seen as "foreign intelligence inforn a - tion" — including any information that "relates" to the national defense or security or the conduct of foreign affairs. The Act provides for broad sharing of information among the FBI, CIA, INS, Secret Ser- vice and National Security Agency. • Americans engaged in civil disobedience or another form of protest activity might be charged with "domestic terrorism" if violence erupts. • They may have to provide DNA samples if convicted of "any crime of violence." • The Attorney General may submit a written application to a court for an order requiring an edu- cational institution to give access to educational records of both foreign and American students. • Some of the above expanded surveillance pow- ers will expire on December 31, 2005 unless reau- thorized by Congress. Many will not, including the sharing of grand jury and other information among law enforcement agencies, the scope of subpoenas for records of electronic communication, the issu- ing of single jurisdiction search warrants, and per- mitting "sneak and peek" secret searches. Since the USA PATRIOTAct was passed, civil lib- erties have been under attack through the follow- ing executive actions. • A Justice Department ruling on October 31, 2001 pemutting the monitoring of communications between federal detainees and their lawyers. • An November 13, 2001 executive order estab- lishing military commissions to try suspected ter- rorists. These tribunals would conduct trials using hearsay and secret evidence, with the accused be- ing convicted and sentenced by two-thirds of the commissioners present. • New regulations issued in May 2002 that en- able the FBI to build profiles of individuals with information purchased from data mining compa- nies, to spy on religious and political organizations, and engage in year-long "fishingexpeditiom" with- out having any evidence of wrongdoing. • The targeting of Muslims and people with Middle Eastern backgrounds for FBI interviews and INS Special Registration — not because of any evi- dence of wrongdoing, but because they fit a profile. • The persistent refusal by the Justice Depart- ment to give information about the names and whereabouts of detainees, even after being ordered to do so by the courts. • The Justice Department's Operation TIPS pm - gram recruiting citizen spies. • The Pentagons Total Information Awareness program to gather all available electronic infoma- tion on everyone in the country. • The Justice Department's order, upheld by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, that citizens it la- bels "enemy combatants" can be stripped of due process rights and denied access to courts. • The Attorney General's draft of a Domestic Security Enhancement Act (PATRIOT II), that would, among many other things, allow the gov- emment to strip citizenship from any American who supports a group designated as a "terrorist orgam- zation," extend surveillance against US citizens without court oversight, authorize secret detentions, and allow the sampling of innocent Americans': DNA information without court order and consent. L Contact the ACLU of Massachusetts If you would like more information about these civil liberties concerns and how you can help defend the O Bill of Rights, call Nancy Murray at (617) 482-3170 x 314. Or you can write to us at 99 Chauncy Street, Suite 310, Boston, MA 02111. For over a century the US Supreme Court has Wiled thatnon-citizens are "persons" under the Fifth and Four- teenth Amendments, entitled to freedom of expression and the rights of association, equal protection and due process under the law. In its 2001 Wiling in Zadvydas v. Davis, the Court cited a 1953 decision holding that "aliens who have once passed through our gates, even illegally, may be expelled only after proceedings con- forming to traditional standards of fairness encom- passed in due process of law." NEW THREATS TO NON -CITIZENS Attorney General John Ashcroft's post 9/11 anti- terrorism offensive has paid little attention to fairness and due process of law, and has fostered a climate of insecurity for non -citizens. Their lives have been made more vulnerable by new legislation, new government regulations and the new enforcement of old rules. • The USA PATRIOT Act Under this legislation, which became law on Octo- ( - 26, 2001, non -citizens can be arrested and held until 'Wrported if they are members of or have provided "ma- terial support" for an organization designated as "ter- rorist;' or which is not yet on the list of terrorist groups but has at some point engaged in the kind of violent activity that could make it eligible for inclusion on that list. They can continue to be detained — possibly in- definitely — if they have never been convicted of a crime, but the Attorney General "certifies" that he has "reasonable grounds to believe" that their release will endanger the "national security of the United States or the safetyof the communityor any person." If they are ordered to be deported, but no country will take them, they can be imprisoned for life in the US. • Expansion of FBI and Police Powers On February 28, 2003 a Department of Justice (DOJ) order gave all 11,000 FBI agents and several thousand US marshals the authority to arrest people on immigra- tion violations. Without any public discussion the DOJ also reversed longstanding federal policy by giving lo- cal and state police the power to enforce non -criminal emigration laws. Meanwhile the databases of po&e �artments, intelligence agencies and the State Depart- ant are being merged into one giant database that in- cludes information about visa applications that the State Department had previously only shared with the INS. • Enforcing Old Rules On July 22, 2002 the DOJ announced it would now enforce a 50 -year-old regulation requiring immigrants to report changes of address within 10 days of moving or face a $200 fine or up to 30 days in prison. Such a status violation could make the offender subject to de- portation. According to the INS, the Wile applies to some 11 million people, including foreign nationals who en- ter the US on temporary visas, students, green card hold- ers, asylum seekers and refugees. The rule had not been enforced because it led to such an avalanche of forms that it was seen to be unworkable. • SEVIS The Student and Exchange Visitor Information Sys- tem, launched in February 2003, links campuses elec- tronically to the Department of Homeland Security. Information about more than a million foreign students —such as when they drop a course, change their major, move house, are disciplined or take a part-time job —is transmitted instantly to immigration officials. Students are unable to access their files and see if the informa- tion contained in them is accurate. The SEVIS data on student visa violators will be shared with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. In August 2003 immigration officials began looking through the SEVIS database to locate students who have violated their im- migration status as well as those termed "suspected risks to national security." THE TARGETING OF MUSLIMS Non -citizens who are Muslim, primarily from the Middle East and South Asia, have been the chief targets of Department of Justice repression since 9/11. • "Special Interest" Arrests More than 1200 people were rounded up in the af- termath of 9/11, as the FBI responded to nearly 96,000 tips in the first week after the attacks. At least 762 non- citizens who were in no way linked to terrorism were placed on an "INS custody list" and held for months in conditions of secrecy, often insolitary confinement. The government changed immigration regulations to pro- vide for indefinite detention "in case of an emergency or other extraordinary circumstance." The treatment of the detainees was sharply criticized by the DOJ's In- spector General Glenn Fine in a report issued in April 2003 (see www.usdoi.gov/oig/special/0603/faU.pdf.) • Enforced "Disappearances" The Bush Administration has repeatedly refused to release the numbers, names and whereabouts of "spe- cial interest" detainees being held in connection with terrorism investigations, and appealed all court orders that it make this information public. On September 21, 2001 the chief immigration judge issued an internal memo stating that "special immigration" hearings should be held behind closed doors without itbeing made public that these hearings were even taking place. • Absconder Apprehension Initiative In February 2002 the DOJ instructed the INS and FBI to hunt down and arrest some 6,000 "priority absconders" from countries where al-Qaeda was be- lieved to operate. They had overstayed their visas and either failed to comply withremoval orders or had never received a final removal order In February 2003 the DOJ reported that 1,141 had been apprehended and 545 re- moved from the country while 391 awaited removal. An estimated 314,000 overstayers from Middle Eastern counties may next be targeted for removal. • FBI Profiling On November 9, 2001 the DOJ announced it was circulating a list to the newly -created anti -terrorism task forces of 5,000 foreign men to be located and inter- viewed. Five months later it added a further 3,000 names to the list. Only 42 percent were actually located and interviewed. Of this number, fewer than 20 were arrested on immigration charges, and three on criminal charges, none with any links to terrorism. On May 9, 2003 a Congressional General Accounting Office report questioned government claims that the FBI interviews helped forward the war on terrorism and stated that they may have had "a chilling effect on relations be- tween the Arab community and law enforcement" (see www.gao.guy/egi/gctxpt?GAO-03-459). Changes in FBI guidelines made in May 2002 per- mit the bureau to conduct surveillance on lawful do- mestic religious, civic and political activity without sus- picion of wrongdoing. On January 27, 2003 the FBI or- dered all field supervisors to count the number of mosques and Muslims in their areas, and use this infor- mation to establish a yardstick for the number of ter- rorism investigations they are expected to carry out. • Operation Green Quest A US Treasury -led multi -agency effort to disrupt the "money trail" financing terrorism, Operation Green Quest has been coordinating raids on homes and bmi- nesses around the country without any kind of account- ability or redress. In combination with the "material support" provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, it has the potential to destroy the lives of people who have nothing to do with terrorism, citizens as well as non- citizens. • Operation Liberty Shield On March 18, 2003 the government announced un- der its Operation Liberty Shield initiative that "asylum applicants fromnations where al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda sym- pathizers, and other terrorist groups are known to have operated will be detained for the duration of their pro - ceasing period." It did not specify exactly what coun- tries were covered by the new rule. And it refused to provide any information to the Joint Congressional Ju- diciary Committee when asked about the three Opera- tion Liberty Shield FBI sweeps of young Arab and Mus- lim males that had taken place in the months following September 11, 2001, most recently in March 2003, stat- ing that this information was classified. • Special Registration Implemented by the DOJ beginning in November 2002 as part of the National Security Entry -Exit Regis- tration System (NSEERS), Special Registration required male visitors (including foreign students, valid visa holders, and those with visa petitions pending), aged 16 years and older from 25 Muslim and Middle Eastern countries as well as North Korea, to come to INS office• to be fingerprinted, photographed, interviewed an� have their financial information copied, or to register when they enter the country and then re -register after 30 days. They also have to register again each time they leave the country or risk being unable to return. Tar- geted males were expected to meet a series of poorly - publicized rolling deadlines or face arrest, detention, fines and deportation- Thousands eportationThousands were detained when they voluntarily went to register, including people who were waiting to hear about their green card applications, and foreign students who were taking too few courses. Morethan 13,000 Muslims and Middle Eastern immigrants who were among the 82,000 who voluntarily complied with Special Registration procedures may soon be expelled from the country. They include people who had errors in their paperwork, and those whose applications for an adjustment of their status have been delayed by a huge backlog in the processing of forms. { i For more information call ACLU: at (617) 482L ,II!I or e®aclu- mas p�7, 2003 the 87-page secret draft • limit the ability of defense attorneys to chal- of theAttomey General's Domestic Security En- 11, lenge the use of secret evidence (section 204); • expand the ability of government to obtain hancementAct of 2003, or PATRIOT Act was the subject of the PBS program "NOW with Bill public and private sector personal information Moyers." The draft, which has not formally been introduced to Congress, had been leaked (section 126); • allow for the sampling and cataloguing of to the Center for Public Integrity. Dated Janu- DNA information about noncitizens andAmen- without court order and without consent ary 9, 2003, it was marked Confidential — Not for Distribution. A notation indicated that it had cans if they are suspected of certain crimes, or of hav- been sent to House Speaker Dennis Hastert and ing supported any group designated as terror- Vice President Richard Cheney on January 10th. Judging from the way Attorney General � t (made ns 301-306); deportation with- p summary P Ashcroft pushed the USA PATRIOT Act through de- out evidence of crime or criminal intent of law- frswhom the de others ful residents Congress without it even being read and bated, it seems likely that Ashcroft is waiting permanent Attorney General Ys are athreat to national for the right moment to strong arm Congress security (section 503); • further criminalize association with unpopu- into passing this bill. If it becomes law, this legislation would: lar organizations labeled as terrorist by the gov- • severely diminish basic checks and balances emment even if there is no intent to commit acts on the power of the executive branch; the government to strip of their citi- of terrorism (section 402); • permit, without any connection to anti-ter- *allow enship Americans who provide support for the lawful activities of a group designated rorism efforts, sensitive personal information about US citizens, including consumer credit even as "terrorist" (section 501); and educational records, to be shared with lo- enforcement (section�); • permit the wiretapping of Americans for 15 days without any court order and at the sole cal and stateelaw grimmunity and discretion of the Attorney General (sections 103 their personnel who phone in false terrorism if their actions are taken with reck- & 104); • make it easier to carry out the surveillance tips, even less disregard for the truth (section 313); • foreign governments to spy on the and wiretapping of US citizens under the top- secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court permit American people (section 321); (sections 101,102 and 107); • federal agents engaged in illegal sur- • unfairly target undocumented workers with extended jail terms for common immigration protect veillance without a court order from criminal offenses (section 502); • share immigration files with local police, prosecution if they are following top executive branch orders (section 106); undermining trust between police departments • terminate court-approved limits on police and immigrant communities (section 311); spying (section 312); Free- • restrict public information about private com- that use potentially dangerous chemicals e authorize secret detentions, by barring pares dom of Information Act efforts to gain informa- tion about detainees (section 201); tion (section 202); • remove "whistleblower" protection for fed- expand the death penalty to offenses that, eral agents (section 129). For the complete draft legislation, see the website cause of the redefinition of domestic terror- ism in the USA PATRIOT Act, could include of the CenterforPublic Integrity (www.public-i.org). protest activities (section 411); For what you can do, turn over. WE MUST STOP THIS DANGEROUS LEGISLATION FROM BECOMING LAW! Write or call your Senators and your Member of Congress and tell them that PATRIOT II must be stopped in its hacks. Below is a sample letter. I am writing to express my alarm at the news that the US Justice Department has acted in secret to draw up the Domestic Security Enhancement Act as a sequel for the USA PATRIOT Act. I have been very disturbed by the way the USA PATRIOT Act gives sweeping new powers of de- tention and surveillance to law enforcement agen- cies, and deprives the Courts of meaningful judi- cial oversight to ensure that these powers are not being abused. I am also worried about the defini- tion of "domestic terrorism;' and fear that it will be used against individuals and groups engaged in lawful First Amendment activity. But now the Justice Department apparently wants to go even further in undermining the Con- stitution and Bill of Rights without making a con- vincing case that this is necessary to ensure our nation's security. The proposed law would, among many other things, dangerously expand law en- forcement and intelligence powers, authorize secret arrests and strip US citizenship from people who support even the lawful activities of groups that the government designates as terrorists. In times like these we must guard against the government's taking advantage of the climate of fear and insecurity to enhance its power at the expense of those freedoms that define who we are as a people. In my view, Congress should immediately take action to protect the Constitution. I am therefore asking you to work to ensure that the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 is never endorsed by Congress. I call on you to go further, and seek the repeal of those sections of the USA PATRIOT Act that have a harmful impact on the civil liberties of both citizens and noncitizens. Please encourage your Congressional colleagues to assert their oversight authority, and support hold- ing hearings into the Bush Administration's poli- cies that undermine ourconst itutionalbuthright and the Bill of Rights. Sincerely, Contact information for Massachusetts Senators and Representatives Senator Edward M. Kennedy Suite 2400, JFK Federal Office Building Boston, MA 02203 tel (617) 565-3170 senator®kennedysenate.eov Senator John E Kerry One Bowdoin Square, 10" Floor Boston, MA 02114 tel (617) 565-8519 johrtkerry®kerrysenate.gov Michael E. Capuano — 81° District 110 First Street Cambridge, MA 02141 tel (617) 6216208; fax 617 549-6909 William Delahunt —101h District 1494 Hancock Street 4'" floor Quincy MA 02169 tel (617) 770 3700 'Iliam d ah mt@rn i .ho ,se.egoy Barney Frank — 4'" District 29 Crafts Street, Suite 375 Newton, MA 02458 tel (617) 332 3920 Stephen Lynch — 91° District US Federal Courthouse, Suite 3110 One Courthouse Way Boston MA 02210 tel (617) 428 2000 Edward J. Markey — 7'" District 5 High Street, Suite 101 Medford, MA 02155 tel (781) 396 2900 James P. McGovern — 3'a District 34 Mechanic Street, l" Floor Worcester, MA 01608 tel (508) 8317356; fax (508) 754 0982 Martin Meehan — 5'" District 11 Kearney Square Lowell, MA 01852 tel (978) 459 0101 mtmeehan@hrhouse.eov Richard. E. Neal — V District 1550 Main Street Springfield, MA 01103 tel (413) 785 0325 John Olver —1" District 78 Center Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 tel (413) 442 0946 to n.oly r@mail ho +se,poy John E Tierney — 6" District 17 Peabody Square Peabody, MA 01960 tel (978) 5311669 0 L A 11