WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today issued the following
statement in reaction to a report by the Inspector General of the the Department
of Justice detailing the mistreatment of immigrants detained after 9/11.
Below
is Schakowsky’s statement:
“Last
month in Chicago, I stood with immigrants from several countries from around
the world who now live in my district. At this event, I committed
myself to turning back the assault on immigrants by the Bush Administration.
I believe that this report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General
is a sordid confirmation that, unless we continue to organize and mobilize
against this anti-immigrant Administration, many innocent and hard-working
people will continue to suffer sustained attacks on their civil liberties
and basic human rights.
“It
is a disgrace that 762 immigrants were taken into custody after 9/11 and
held for an average of three months, only to be cleared of any links to
terrorism. In fact, not one of these immigrant detainees was charged
with any terrorist-related crime. The Inspector General’s report
found that, during their detention, these immigrants had their civil liberties
and human rights grossly violated. Many were treated to a pattern
of physical and verbal abuse, were denied access to counsel, and were not
charged with any crime for over a month.
“As
if that alone is not bad enough, there’s the question of resources.
Think of all the government resources that were used to detain immigrants
and to round up immigrants for Special Registration. These are resources
that could have been used to protect the United States and the security
of our people. Instead, these resources were not spent making us
any safer or more secure, and in fact they undermine our position in the
world. We say to countries, “We want to bring you democracy.
We want to bring you the values we in the United States hold dear.”
How can we do that when we are detaining people without regard for their
human and civil rights? We must stand up for all immigrants and push
the Administration to make serious changes.” |