3 Groups Sue Over Arrests of Arab Men

Three organizations representing Arab and Iranian immigrants sued the government Tuesday, seeking curbs on a program that requires men and boys, mostly from Middle Eastern countries, to register with immigration authorities.

A Justice Department spokesman said Tuesday that about 400 people who showed up to register at Southern California Immigration and Naturalization Service offices last week were detained because of visa problems.

Justice officials earlier had put the number at just over 200. About 20 people remain in custody, the spokesman said, pending more detailed security checks.

The suit by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Alliance of Iranian Americans and the Council on American Islamic Relations was filed in federal court in Los Angeles.

It seeks an injunction to prevent the government from carrying out widespread detentions of people who come to Immigration and Naturalization Service offices during the next set of registrations set for Jan. 10. Several hundred men and boys were detained in Los Angeles in the first round of registrations last week.

Most of those detained have since been released, but the lawsuit denounces the detentions that did take place as unlawful.

The three groups are seeking a court order preventing the INS from detaining anyone without first obtaining an arrest warrant. It also seeks to bar the deportation of anyone who is qualified to legalize his status, and to guarantee those persons bail hearings if they are detained.

“Although the special registration policy has been presented as a national security measure designed to counter potential terrorist threats, the INS has been using the registration process to not only enforce immigration law but to arrest and deport people who have complied with the law at every stage and are on the road to becoming permanent residents,” the three organizations said in a statement.

Last week’s registration deadline applied to men in the United States with temporary resident status who are natives of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria.

INS officials have said the agency was not prepared to process the large number of people who showed up, particularly in Southern California, which has the nation’s largest population of Iranian immigrants.

The next deadline affects men and boys over 16 from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Temporary visa holders from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have until Feb. 21 to register.

On Monday, a federal judge in Santa Ana dismissed a separate lawsuit filed by 11 Iranians who said they were unlawfully detained when they appeared at INS offices to comply with special registration requirements.

That suit demanded that the INS end the practice of arresting aliens without notice of charges, speedy arraignment and bond hearings.

In refusing to grant a temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler said the court lacked jurisdiction over the INS and that the plaintiffs had failed to meet their burden of proof.

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Times staff writer Monte Morin contributed to this report