Speech #1000021175

And of course the amendment makes no distinction between citizens and others. It says that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech. or of the press." The freedom covers the country. The socalled ideological provisions of the McCarranWalter Immigration Act have been used to keep out foreign visitors disliked by Washington officials. Now the I.N.S. is trying to put them to an even more dangerous use: to deport resident aliens for using American political freedoms. A second doubt about the casea matter of decency as well as constitutionalityis the way the Palestinians are being treated. They have lived in this country for as long as 15 years. Suddenly they are thrown in jail. shackled. denied bailinstead of just being notified of any alleged immigration violation. as is usually done. Why the harsh treatment? It seems designed to suggest some terrorist involvement. But Justice Department officials say the F.B.I. investigated these people for months and found no activity connected with terrorism. Indications are that some I.N.S. officials are using this case to try out a "contingency plan" for handling suspected terrorists. A draft plan leaked to the press last week suggests that when no evidence of terrorism can be found. suspects be charged with technical immigration violations. denied bail. treated as security risks. A third reason for qualms about this case is the targeting of Palestinians. The draft contingency plan said the I.N.S. would have to "concentrate its counterterrorism efforts against particular nationalities or groups." It listed eight examples: seven Arab countries and Iran.