U.S. deports 131 Pak. nationals

[TheOtherOne]

U.S. deports 131 Pak. nationals.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami.

07/11/2002

The Hindu

(c) 2002 Katsuri & Sons Ltd

Washington The United States deported 131 Pakistanis who were in jail for several months in a secret airlift last month, The Washington Post has reported.

All those deported had been arrested under a Justice Department programme to locate and apprehend immigrants who ignored prior deportation orders and who came under scrutiny in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11. None had any terrorist links, officials said. According to the report, the detainees from 22 cities in the United States were flown out from an airport in Louisiana on June 26 by a chartered jetliner. The whole exercise, including payment for the chartered jet to Islamabad, came to around $500,000.

"The Pakistani Government was extremely co-operative in helping us ensure that these individuals were repatriated with safety, speed and dignity," a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Naturalisation Service told The Post. The deportees, including one woman, had been arrested for immigration violations and some other criminal charges, including rape, larceny, burglary and possession of cocaine. Originally, 170 persons were to have been deported but 39 had obtained court rulings blocking their eviction.

In terms of bilateral relations, the "repatriation" of the Pakistani nationals would seem to be removing a thorny issue between the two countries. Pakistan has, for a long time, pressed the Bush administration to expedite the cases against its nationals.

In fact, this was one of the issues taken up by the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, during his visit to the United States. Last year, the Justice Department had said there were 300 detainees from Pakistan. With pressure mounting from Islamabad, the administration agreed to expedite the deportations and accordingly, many were sent back home earlier this year on commercial flights, The Post said.

But apparently the process broke down this May for administrative reasons.

The Bush administration has come under criticism from civil rights advocates for continuing to detain hundreds of persons, mostly from Arab countries and South Asia.

While most of them are supposedly held for immigration violations, many have also been detained in connection with the ongoing terrorism investigation.

What has particularly attracted attention is that the detentions and deportations have been done in secret; and critics allege that Muslims have been unfairly targeted.

[Huck]

that Muslims have been unfairly targeted

Good.

[MinorityRepublican]

that Muslims have been unfairly targeted

What a shame.

[Guillermo]

Please make sure someone calls the whaaaaambulance for them.

[NeoCaveman]

A good start, but still a drop in the bucket.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

What has particularly attracted attention is that the detentions and deportations have been done in secret; and critics allege that Muslims have been unfairly targeted.

Maybe they're onto something. I think we should deport ALL illegals and that might help the critics feel better.

[hellinahandcart]

If they ignored a deportation order, it's rather unfair of THEM to expect to stay here anyway.

Okay, this makes *138* unfriendlies deported in July. It's shaping up to be a good month.

[joesnuffy]

So they hop right back on a boat or plane for mexico or canada and either they or their replacement is back in the good ole USA in 6 months time...sneaking right past air port security or "buy"passing immigration who are too busy feeling up some 80 yr old grandmum to pay much attention to terrorists...er I mean muslims

[nevergore]

"Maybe they're onto something. I think we should deport ALL illegals and that might help the critics feel better. "

Oh yeah....then who would cut the grass in my yard!

NeverGore :^)

[Mitchell]

Ping.

[TADSLOS]

The whole exercise, including payment for the chartered jet to Islamabad, came to around $500,000.

Please tell me that it came out of the State Department's Visa Office budget.

[Dog Gone]

Bye bye, dudes. I hope we send another few thousand to join you.

[ironman]

This is not breaking news. John McCaslin in the Washington Times Inside the Beltway makes fun of the Post's description as a "secret" deportation that was reported by his paper many days ago.

[bkwells]

See ya!! And don't come back!

[Republic]

What has particularly attracted attention is that the detentions and deportations have been done in secret; and critics allege that Muslims have been unfairly targeted.

Ahhhhhhh...poor inconvenienced babys! Breaking their hosts country's laws and having to go back home! How, well, TERRIBLE for them!

Perhaps some of the people, innocent of wrongful intentions, will start cracking down on their own brethren, like they should all be doing over there in the Arab nations, as they start to fell the brunt of allowing genuine cowards, terrorists as it were, to flourish within their own nations.

Maybe this crackdown will help them realize we don't LIKE having terrorists here!

[Psycho_Bunny]

Why did we pay to charter a plane?

We should have pushed them into the Atlantic with some "Water Wings" and told them to swim home.

[DancesWithTrout]

That would contaminate the water and foul the beaches. The enviro-nazis would never stand for that.

[b4its2late]

and critics allege that Muslims have been unfairly targeted.

awwwhhhh ...... TDB.

[LurkedLongEnough]

The whole exercise, including payment for the chartered jet to Islamabad, came to around $500,000.

It seems like this statement was meant to drum up opposition to the deporations. Give em a rubber raft.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

A good start. Send the bill to the Saudi's.