Speech #1140099169

Why would we bring these jihadist terrorist detainees into the United States when this would pose significant national security risks to the American people? What particularly worries me about Secretary Carters statement is that any transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States would apply highly ambiguous legal doctrines that could mean these terrorists would eventually be released on the streets in our homeland. Very serious questions arise from this proposition. as the immigration implications of such a potential transfer are far from clear. Some of those questions include: What sort of immigration status would the Guantanamo detainees have? May Guantanamo detainees be detained indefinitely? Could Guantanamo detainees apply for asylum? What immigration benefits would the Guantanamo detainees be eligible for? Perhaps most important. how would U.S. courts rule on these issues. particularly if a future court decides that the war on terror has ceased? Weve seen Federal courts in the past grant Guantanamo detainees greater rights than Congress intended. It is my understanding that if these detainees were to be transferred to the United States. it would likely be done by granting them "parole" status. Immigration parole does not constitute an admission to the United States. but provides permission to enter the United States. It is supposed to be provided on a casebycase basis. based on "urgent humanitarian reasons" or "significant public benefit." As an initial matter. I dont see how paroling any of these terrorists into the country could be said to be either a humanitarian gesture or one that constituted a "significant public benefit." But in addition to that concern. there is almost no precedent for immigration parole being used as a means of indefinite detention of aliens on U.S. territory. It should be used as a means to an end. such as bringing a criminal to the U.S. to serve as witness in a trial or allowing certain individuals in the U.S. to obtain emergency medical care. Consequently. as the Center for Immigration Studies report I mentioned before recently put it. "If the Guantanamo detainees are transferred to the United States. we are faced with the very real likelihood of openended immigration paroles. which rely on indefinite imprisonment under undefined. littleunderstood rules and protocols." Given these legal uncertainties. the most likely results for detainees brought to the United States who will not be tried for their terrorist activities. or who the administration otherwise intends to hold indefinitely. are writs of habeas corpus and complaints of violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The war on terror has no end in sight. so these legal actions would inevitably arise as a result of the detainees newly established presence on American soil and the indefinite nature of their detention. I would further expect Federal courts to be particularly willing to entertain such writs or other legal actions if any of the detainees are tried for their crimes but not found guilty.