Some
say they know a government must do what it can to protect its
citizens.
But a few were also wondering about the fairness of a new U.S.
policy that mandates international visitors from several countries
that are primarily Muslim and Arab to register with the Immigration
and Naturalization Service in an attempt to combat terrorism.
"Every country has the right to do what they think is
appropriate for their security," said Dhaifallah Almatrodi, a
Saudi Arabian doctoral candidate at Western Michigan University who
has lived in the United States for five years. But he said the
current system "makes us (look) like a bad people."
As a Saudi, Almatrodi will be among those required to register --
along with Pakistanis -- in the next round ending Feb. 21.
Almatrodi was among the estimated 70 people who listened and
asked questions of INS agents Hiwatha Greene-Janvier and Douglas
Pierce as they explained the new procedure.
Foreign men over 16 must re-register each year. If they ever
leave the United States, they must contact the INS within 30 days of
re-entering this country. Pierce also encouraged those visitors who
might have missed previous deadlines to contact the Detroit agency
anyway to register.
Wednesday's informational meeting at the Bernhard Center at
Western Michigan University was sponsored by the newly created
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Greater Kalamazoo.
Pierce said more than 1,000 people have already registered with
the Detroit District INS office since mid-November. Among them, an
unspecified number have been detained, primarily those with criminal
or other warrants, Pierce said.
James N. Rodbard, local ACLU president and ADC board member,
asked Pierce about the purpose of the "biometrics," the
system for collecting fingerprints and photos from registrants.
"It's a matter of making sure you're who you say you
are," Pierce said. "It's a way of tracking, but also of
ensuring the identification of the person (who is) in front of
us."
Another Saudi Arabian, Salem Alfaify, who's been in the United
States for six months, wondered how people from his country, which
has enjoyed a fairly good relationship with the United States, wound
up having to register.
"But also, I think this meeting is very helpful to
understand the process," he said.
To Suraj Belani, an Indian who grew up in the United Arab
Emirates, the hassle lies not so much in the registration itself,
but in the requirements that would have him registering every four
months. That is how often he'd be leaving this country to return
home.
"I still feel that there could be something better,"
some other way of trying to root out terrorism, Belani said.
Critics have charged that the new system racially profiles
visitors, especially as those countries initially listed are
primarily Muslim or Arab or both. The terrorists who hijacked the
airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, were Muslim and Arab.
Today, the government announced that temporary nonimmigrants or
visitors from five other countries would have to register:
Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Bangladesh.
Registrations have been required of visitors from Afghanistan,
Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco,
North Korea, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Stephanie Esters can be reached at 388-8554 or se@kalamazoogazette.com.
