<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>U.S. Role in the World</title> <atom:link href="https://brucefinley.com/category/us-role-in-the-world/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://brucefinley.com</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:27:42 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator> <item> <title>Iraq veterans launch humanitarian missions</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/iraq-veterans-launch-humanitarian-missions/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/iraq-veterans-launch-humanitarian-missions/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:25:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Iraq-related]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/iraq-veterans-launch-humanitarian-missions/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Three Iraq combat veterans from Colorado have launched themselves on a new kind of mission abroad: fighting poverty as civilians. Discharged this year from the Quebec Battery, 5th Battalion, 14th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division, a reserve unit based at Buckley Air Force Base, the three are devoting themselves to humanitarian aid projects in […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Three Iraq combat veterans from Colorado have launched themselves on a new kind of mission abroad: fighting poverty as civilians. Discharged this year from the Quebec Battery, 5th Battalion, 14th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division, a reserve unit based at Buckley Air Force Base, the three are devoting themselves to humanitarian aid projects in Asia and Africa. A fourth is setting up a domestic violence support service he will pursue when he leaves the Marine Corps. “After you’ve experienced the world at its worst, it seems to be a natural instinct to want to make it better,” said Cpl. Brenton Hutson, 24, a Wheat Ridge High School graduate who joined the military at age 17 and served in Ramadi and Fallujah in 2006 during the worst of Iraq’s sectarian war. National veterans group leaders say the jump from combat to humanitarian aid is becoming common as Americans return from war and want more than a comfortable domestic existence.</p> <p><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_13936798">Read More</a></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/iraq-veterans-launch-humanitarian-missions/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Asylum-Seekers</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/asylum-seekers/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/asylum-seekers/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:04:26 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Counter-Terrorism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Refugees]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/uncategorized/asylum-seekers/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Tough rules delay cases Anti-terrorism efforts require stricter proof of persecution, including documents that can “reasonably” be obtained. Jailed and tortured in Ethiopia, Samuel Tafesa made it to Mexico, then waded across the Rio Grande into the United States. Now in Denver, he’s begging for asylum protection, claiming that Ethiopian police beat him with sticks […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Tough rules delay cases Anti-terrorism efforts require stricter proof of persecution, including documents that can “reasonably” be obtained.</strong></p> <p>Jailed and tortured in Ethiopia, Samuel Tafesa made it to Mexico,<br /> then waded across the Rio Grande into the United States.</p> <p>Now in Denver, he’s begging for asylum protection, claiming that<br /> Ethiopian police beat him with sticks on the bottoms of his feet<br /> and held his head under water, trying to coerce information about<br /> fellow members of an opposition political party.</p> <p>“I’m afraid to go back to Ethiopia,” he said. “If I go back,<br /> I’ll be killed.”</p> <p>For Tafesa and tens of thousands of other asylum-seekers, sanctuary<br /> in America has become harder to attain. U.S. officials are<br /> subjecting them to increasingly rigorous scrutiny, government<br /> officials and legal experts say.</p> <p>New anti-terrorism measures require stricter proof of persecution,<br /> including documents that can “reasonably” be obtained.</p> <p>Tafesa, 22, called back to Ethiopia repeatedly, asking his mother<br /> to get what she can for his lawyer, Michael Litman.</p> <p>Today’s higher standard of proof makes cases more complex and<br /> prolongs them, with government attorneys sending documents to a<br /> Homeland Security forensics lab for testing.</p> <p>“We have a tradition, but we want to make sure people seeking<br /> (asylum) have a rightful entitlement,” said Mike Everitt, a unit<br /> chief in the lab near Washington, D.C.</p> <p>The new measures are contributing to a record immigration-court<br /> backlog – 3,370 cases pending in Denver, a third involving asylum,<br /> federal statistics show. That’s double Denver’s pending caseload<br /> six years ago.</p> <p>Department of Justice officials said 166,200 cases are pending in<br /> immigration courts nationwide, including 33,194 in Los Angeles,<br /> 8,546 in Chicago and 9,455 in Orlando, Fla. In 2000, 125,764 cases<br /> were pending.</p> <p><strong>“Overburdened” system</strong></p> <p>Dana Marks, a sitting judge in California and president of the<br /> National Association of Immigration Judges, said dozens more judges<br /> are needed.</p> <p>The system is “unbelievably overburdened,” squeezing judges’<br /> ability to make life-or-death decisions, Marks said.</p> <p>“Why are we treating the asylum system this way? If we pride<br /> ourselves in America for treating refugees right, why aren’t we<br /> providing resources to ensure they get prompt and fair treatment?”<br /> Marks said.</p> <p>Now, fewer people are applying for asylum, though the reasons for<br /> the drop aren’t clear.</p> <p>Some 54,452 applications were received last year in immigration<br /> courts, down from 74,627 in 2002 and 84,904 in 1997, records show.<br /> Adjudicators for the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration<br /> Services, who often see asylum-seekers first, received 36,502<br /> applications last year, down from 65,201 in 2002 and 149,000 in<br /> 1995, according to a senior USCIS official who spoke on condition<br /> of anonymity, in accordance with agency policy.</p> <p>In Denver, about one in three cases handled is approved. Asylum<br /> experts say it’s too early to gauge whether the new standards for<br /> proof will change that percentage.</p> <p>USCIS adjudicators approved 27 percent of cases they handled this<br /> year, down from 43 percent in 2001, according to the senior<br /> official. In immigration courts, stats show 23 percent of<br /> applications processed last year were approved, up from 20 percent<br /> in 2002.</p> <p>Previously, asylum-seekers often were accepted solely on the basis<br /> of government “country condition” reports and testimony that<br /> judges found to be credible and persuasive.</p> <p>Today’s higher standards requiring documentation that could<br /> “reasonably” be obtained “change the burden of proof,” the<br /> official said. But “there’s still the allowance” that an<br /> applicant who can’t obtain documents can win asylum if deemed<br /> credible, he said.</p> <p><strong>“Out of reach for many”</strong></p> <p>One problem caused by the more frequent demand for documents is<br /> that hiring document and medical experts raises legal costs, said<br /> Regina Germain, legal director at the Rocky Mountain Survivors<br /> Center and author of a legal text on asylum law.</p> <p>“I fear recent changes … could put asylum out of reach for many<br /> people who flee with little more than the clothes on their backs,”<br /> Germain said.</p> <p>In Tafesa’s case, an Addis Ababa police document his mother sent<br /> says he was imprisoned for 17 days in 2005 for being a member of<br /> the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party. The document accuses<br /> him of involvement in “illegal demonstrations” and “promoting<br /> unhealthy propaganda and causing conflict of people against<br /> people.”</p> <p>It says he was released from prison on the condition he cease all<br /> political activity and check in weekly, which he failed to do. It<br /> warns: “The police department will track you and your family<br /> down.”</p> <p>The government is vetting those documents. His case is scheduled<br /> for a hearing in May.</p> <p>Meantime, he works under a temporary permit, washing rental cars at<br /> Denver International Airport for $8.85 an hour that he uses mostly<br /> for legal fees.</p> <p>His father and brother in Ethiopia have gone missing, and his<br /> 6-year-old son, Mathais, is bewildered, Tafesa said before work<br /> Friday.</p> <p>“He asks me: ‘Where are you?’ I tell him I’ll be there one day,”<br /> Tafesa said. “What can I do?”</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/asylum-seekers/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Citizenship Case Takes a New Twist</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/citizenship-case-takes-a-new-twist/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/citizenship-case-takes-a-new-twist/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:27:19 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/citizenship-case-takes-a-new-twist/</guid> <description><![CDATA[New filings in the citizenship battle of a blind Palestinian computer whiz show that the FBI completed its background check a year ago but that Homeland Security officials then failed to rule as required under federal law. The government also has admitted it failed to comply fully with a federal judge’s order to turn over […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>New filings in the citizenship battle of a blind Palestinian<br /> computer whiz show that the FBI completed its background check a<br /> year ago but that Homeland Security officials then failed to rule<br /> as required under federal law.</p> <p>The government also has admitted it failed to comply fully with a<br /> federal judge’s order to turn over the FBI background check<br /> results.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Walker Miller on Thursday reordered the<br /> government to provide full results of the FBI check on Colorado<br /> resident Zuhair Mahd – to be sealed and delivered by the end of<br /> next week.</p> <p>Government lawyers say the FBI never reveals background-check<br /> results whether they are positive or negative. Revealing results<br /> “may interfere with ongoing law enforcement or national security<br /> investigations or interests,” according to U.S. Attorney Troy<br /> Eid’s latest filing.</p> <p>Eid on Thursday said: “The government will comply with the court<br /> order.”</p> <p>Department of Homeland Security citizenship spokesman Chris Bentley<br /> declined to comment on the delays.</p> <p>The case has revealed irregularities in how the government carries<br /> out security checks on citizenship applicants under a system<br /> instituted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Mahd is among tens of<br /> thousands of applicants nationwide who have passed tests but have<br /> been left in limbo.</p> <p>After applying for citizenship in September 2004 and passing tests<br /> three months later, Mahd waited and waited, told by citizenship<br /> officials that the FBI hadn’t completed his background check. In<br /> May 2006, he filed a lawsuit to force action and won this year when<br /> Miller ordered the FBI to complete the check in 45 days.</p> <p>Then, citizenship officials rejected Mahd’s application after he<br /> refused to submit to an additional videotaped interview.</p> <p>A computer expert who pioneered text-to-speech software, Mahd, 34,<br /> is representing himself. He was born totally blind to Palestinian<br /> refugees in Jordan and came to the United States as a teenager with<br /> the help of U.S. officials. He has worked for IBM and on government<br /> contracts, living in the country legally for 17 years.</p> <p>Judge Miller has asked government lawyers why Mahd shouldn’t be<br /> naturalized immediately.</p> <p>U.S. Attorney Eid has argued Miller doesn’t have jurisdiction.<br /> Federal judges once handled citizenship cases, but this duty was<br /> transferred in the 1990s to the Department of Justice in an effort<br /> to unburden courts.</p> <p>U.S. immigration law says, however, that if applications of<br /> immigrants who pass citizenship tests aren’t handled in 120 days,<br /> the applicants can go to federal court and ask judges to decide.</p> <p>Mahd said he’s bewildered to learn the FBI check has been done for<br /> a year. He has appealed the denial.</p> <p>“For all I know, they think I’m a heinous criminal or a<br /> mischievous person. I’d like to clear this,” he said.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/citizenship-case-takes-a-new-twist/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Feds Get Judicial Scolding</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-get-judicial-scolding/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-get-judicial-scolding/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 02 Sep 2007 23:51:08 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-get-judicial-scolding/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Judge exasperated at new delays in immigrant’s citizenship quest Zuhair Mahd, a blind Palestinian computer programmer, has been in the U.S. legally for 17 years and passed his citizenship test in 2004. A federal judge bristled with what he called “sheer disbelief” at the government’s failure to follow his order in the case of a […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Judge exasperated at new delays in immigrant’s citizenship quest </strong></p> <p><strong>Zuhair Mahd, a blind Palestinian computer programmer, has been in the U.S. legally for 17 years and passed his citizenship test in 2004.</strong></p> <p>A federal judge bristled with what he called “sheer disbelief” at<br /> the government’s failure to follow his order in the case of a blind<br /> Palestinian immigrant stalled in his quest for citizenship.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Walker Miller ordered federal authorities to<br /> produce proof of an FBI background check of Colorado-based computer<br /> expert Zuhair Mahd within 10 days.</p> <p>Then, Miller said, he’ll decide whether he will rule on Mahd’s<br /> long-delayed citizenship application – rather than leave it to the<br /> Department of Homeland Security.</p> <p>“This man’s been waiting since 2004,” Miller said. “This man has<br /> rights.”</p> <p>The federal court action Friday in Denver gave a glimpse into what<br /> have become widespread problems in the government’s<br /> background-check program for all citizenship applicants to guard<br /> against terrorism, started after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.</p> <p>Last month, Miller ordered the government to prove why Mahd<br /> “should not be immediately naturalized.” In March, he ordered the<br /> FBI to complete Mahd’s background check within 45 days – after Mahd<br /> filed a federal lawsuit.</p> <p>U.S. Attorney Troy Eid notified Miller that the check was done,<br /> with results forwarded to immigration officials, yet no<br /> documentation had been given to the court.</p> <p>On Friday before Judge Miller, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth<br /> Weishaupl argued that the judge has no jurisdiction to handle this<br /> case.</p> <p>“I have the jurisdiction to determine whether my order has been<br /> followed,” Miller said.</p> <p>“What you are saying is: ‘You have to have a name check.’ But then<br /> there’s nothing to show whether it’s been done. … I am not<br /> satisfied,” he said.</p> <p>Eid later issued a written statement: “We are confident that the<br /> FBI completed the name check within the time frame mandated by the<br /> court, and we look forward to proving this fact to the judge.”</p> <p>Federal judges rarely rule on citizenship applications. In the<br /> early 1990s, that responsibility was transferred to immigration<br /> officials overseen by the Department of Justice so that courts<br /> wouldn’t be bogged down.</p> <p>But now immigration cases increasingly end up back in federal<br /> court. Judges nationwide face multiplying cases filed by<br /> citizenship applicants who have passed tests – but still aren’t<br /> approved. The FBI is struggling to process hundreds of thousands of<br /> background checks.</p> <p>U.S. law says immigrants who pass citizenship tests must have their<br /> cases handled in 120 days. Otherwise, applicants can go to court<br /> and ask judges to decide.</p> <p>Mahd, 33, who has legally been in the U.S. for 17 years, passed his<br /> citizenship test in December 2004.</p> <p>He was born blind to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, and came to<br /> the United States as a teenager with the help of U.S. officials. A<br /> computer programmer, he has worked for IBM and on government<br /> contacts, pioneering Arabic text-to-speech software.</p> <p>After Mahd won his case compelling the FBI and Homeland Security to<br /> handle his application, immigration officials demanded that he<br /> provide additional documents and submit to videotaped interviews.</p> <p>Mahd at first refused, saying he feared a fishing expedition. He<br /> asked agents to explain why the additional demands were legally<br /> justified.</p> <p>In June, he complied and presented four years of tax records,<br /> travel documents, employment data back to 1998 and more. He still<br /> refused to be interviewed. This month, his application was denied.</p> <p>Mahd has appealed that denial within Homeland Security’s<br /> immigration system.</p> <p>On Friday, Judge Miller said he wanted to see certified background<br /> check results, not merely a declaration that the FBI check has been<br /> done.</p> <p>If the background check involves matters of national security,<br /> Miller said, he will review the documents in his office.</p> <p>Mahd, as a self-represented noncitizen, would not be able to attend<br /> that meeting.</p> <p>“I’m confident the judge would evaluate this properly,” he said<br /> Friday.</p> <p>Assistant U.S. Attorney Weishaupl told Miller she needed to have<br /> his request for background-check documentation in writing.</p> <p>“You will note, of course, the irony of you wanting something in<br /> writing,” Miller said, assuring her it would be done in the<br /> tradition of open government.</p> <p>“I have no hesitation to put my orders in writing for all to<br /> see,” he said.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-get-judicial-scolding/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Feds Block Citizenship of Suit Plaintiff</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-block-citizenship-of-suit-plaintiff/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-block-citizenship-of-suit-plaintiff/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:39:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-block-citizenship-of-suit-plaintiff/</guid> <description><![CDATA[IN LIMBO THREE YEARS A blind computer expert who passed his citizenship test in ’04 recently won a suit forcing his background check’s completion. The government began a last-ditch effort to deny citizenship for a blind Palestinian computer whiz in Colorado who recently won a lawsuit forcing the FBI to complete his long-stalled security background […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>IN LIMBO THREE YEARS </strong></p> <p><strong>A blind computer expert who passed his citizenship test in ’04 recently won a suit forcing his background check’s completion.</strong></p> <p>The government began a last-ditch effort to deny citizenship for a<br /> blind Palestinian computer whiz in Colorado who recently won a<br /> lawsuit forcing the FBI to complete his long-stalled security<br /> background check.</p> <p>Homeland Security officials now have blocked Zuhair Mahd’s<br /> three-year citizenship quest because he wouldn’t submit to<br /> additional interviews after the FBI check was done, said Robert<br /> Mather, Denver district director of U.S. Citizenship and<br /> Immigration Services.</p> <p>“We weren’t able to move forward with an approval process because<br /> we didn’t have all the information we requested,” Mather said in<br /> an interview.</p> <p>This denial escalates a standoff that already had spun out of the<br /> immigration system into federal court – where judges nationwide<br /> increasingly face cases of citizenship applicants who passed tests<br /> but still aren’t approved.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Walker Miller in Denver last week ordered the<br /> government to prove why Mahd “should not be immediately<br /> naturalized.” A hearing is set for Aug. 31.</p> <p>Federal judges rarely grant citizenship. But U.S. law says<br /> immigrants who pass citizenship tests must have their cases handled<br /> in 120 days. Otherwise, applicants can go to court and ask judges<br /> to decide.</p> <p>Mahd, 33, who has been in the U.S. legally for 17 years, passed his<br /> citizenship test in December 2004.</p> <p>Born blind to Palestinian immigrants in Jordan, he came to the<br /> country as a teenager with the help of U.S. officials. Today he<br /> works for the University of Colorado helping a blind engineering<br /> graduate student adapt.</p> <p>He worked previously for IBM and on government contracts.</p> <p>He said that he’s been forthcoming with immigration officials who<br /> this year, long after their 120-day deadline, demanded that he<br /> provide additional documents and submit to a videotaped interview.<br /> At first, he refused but then in June complied and presented four<br /> years’ worth of tax records, travel documents, employment data back<br /> to 1998, and more. But he still refused to be interviewed,<br /> according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and his<br /> application was denied.</p> <p>“They’re not entitled to the interview or the documents. The<br /> documents were provided as a goodwill gesture,” Mahd said.</p> <p>“They were going to deny (the application), no matter what I did<br /> or didn’t do. All they are doing is buying time and splitting<br /> hairs, and I don’t think that’s good for any of us.”</p> <p>Miller on March 22 ordered the FBI to complete Mahd’s stalled<br /> background check after Mahd filed a federal lawsuit on his own –<br /> his first legal case.</p> <p>This case set a regional precedent as the FBI grapples with a<br /> growing backlog of 440,000 uncompleted background security checks,<br /> which were instituted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to guard<br /> against terrorism.</p> <p>Prosecutors on Tuesday asked Miller to cancel this month’s hearing,<br /> arguing that the government has obeyed his order.</p> <p>Mahd’s application “has been denied,” U.S. attorney spokesman<br /> Jeff Dorschner said. “He needs to now go through the process of<br /> appealing that denial” with immigration officials.</p> <p>Mahd said he would prefer to rely on Judge Miller in federal court.<br /> Government officials “have broken a law, and they’re acting in a<br /> vindictive manner,” Mahd said.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/feds-block-citizenship-of-suit-plaintiff/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Adjusting to America in a New Land, New Challenges</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/adjusting-to-america-in-a-new-land-new-challenges/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/adjusting-to-america-in-a-new-land-new-challenges/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:03:53 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Refugees]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/adjusting-to-america-in-a-new-land-new-challenges/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Refugees from Myanmar, formerly barred from the U.S. for opposing the regime there, are settling in Denver. But they need help crossing a wide cultural gap. Running shoeless and wading neck-deep through jungle rivers to evade Myanmar’s military dictatorship enraged her. But sitting in Denver’s jail for seven hours, hearing the sobs of a cellmate […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Refugees from Myanmar, formerly barred from the U.S. for opposing the regime there, are settling in Denver. But they need help crossing a wide cultural gap.</strong></p> <p>Running shoeless and wading neck-deep through jungle rivers to<br /> evade Myanmar’s military dictatorship enraged her.</p> <p>But sitting in Denver’s jail for seven hours, hearing the sobs of a<br /> cellmate and knowing only of a world where authorities torture and<br /> kill prisoners, refugee Always Ways, 37, doubted that America would<br /> be better.</p> <p>“I just prayed I’d be released,” she said, speaking through an<br /> interpreter.</p> <p>Her detention – after police found her toddler son roaming as<br /> village children do – illustrates the bewildering cross-cultural<br /> challenge she and other tribal refugees from Myanmar face as they<br /> adapt to an alien U.S. culture that revolves around technology and<br /> money.</p> <p>After years of rejecting refugees from Myanmar out of concern they<br /> supported terrorists, the U.S. government recently began resettling<br /> thousands in cities nationwide – including about 200 in Denver.</p> <p>This latest wave of newcomers who speak no English and need help<br /> with everything from food stamps to riding buses has resettlement<br /> agencies, on contract with the government, scrambling to meld the<br /> traditional and modern. Denver is regarded as comfortable for<br /> refugees based on experience with the Hmong, facilities such as the<br /> Rocky Mountain Survivors Center and a robust economy.</p> <p>Yet social workers here are hampered by a lack of interpreters who<br /> speak Karen and other tribal languages.</p> <p>Isolated from one another in scattered low-income housing, refugees<br /> accustomed to cooking with charcoal and fetching water from streams<br /> struggle with taps, electric stoves, and TV images of sex and<br /> murder.</p> <p>They’re told they can receive free food for 90 days, but wait for<br /> weeks as caseworkers try to arrange these benefits. Job interviews<br /> at hotels and casinos often stall on the language barrier. Doctors<br /> facing refugees and their children often aren’t sure what they<br /> need.</p> <p>One family fell deeply in debt after an auto dealer gave generous<br /> financing for a fully loaded van. Children brace for<br /> misunderstanding at schools. At one, teachers struggled just to<br /> identify a girl awaiting class whom they wrongly assumed spoke<br /> Korean.</p> <p>A father working in a foam factory was left brain-damaged after an<br /> accident.</p> <p>“My friend call me: ‘Help me! Help me!’ I go to the machine. The<br /> machine hurt my head,” said Tar Pine, 51, now living in an Arvada<br /> head-injury care facility with a dent in his skull.</p> <p>Distraught to be raising three kids without him, Tar Pine’s wife,<br /> Dah Doh Moo, 47, recently wrecked the family car. “I saw the red<br /> light, but I didn’t remember to stop.”</p> <p>Now she nurses a bruised chest, tries to counsel other refugees by<br /> telephone and reminisces of her simpler days fighting Burmese<br /> forces with a U.S.-made M-16 rifle as a member of the Karen National Liberation Army,<br /> or KNLA.</p> <p>“We just protect our Karen people. Never do any terrorism. … We<br /> want Americans to know we are not terror people.”</p> <p>Her mother, Bheir, 87, waters backyard garden vegetables, telling<br /> stories of “crying every day” in what is now Myanmar during World<br /> War II, when she helped British soldiers fighting Japanese<br /> occupiers.</p> <p>“I’ve been in trouble my whole life. It got better here in<br /> America,” she said. “But a lot of problems here, too.”</p> <p>For two decades, ethnic minority refugees from Texas-sized Myanmar<br /> (population 48 million) have been fleeing to escape abuse, forced<br /> labor, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and death at the<br /> hands of the nation’s Chinese-backed military regime. Myanmar is<br /> the name adopted by the current government, which suspended the<br /> nation’s constitution in 1988, though the U.S. government and the<br /> Karen still refer to the nation as Burma.</p> <p>Congress last week voted to extend economic sanctions against<br /> Myanmar.</p> <p><strong>Bending post-9/11 laws</strong></p> <p>Today, hundreds of thousands of Karen and other refugees languish<br /> in crowded camps just across the Myanmar-Thailand border.<br /> International resettlement efforts began in 2005.</p> <p>But U.S. officials at first rejected these refugees because of<br /> provisions in the post-9/11 USA Patriot and Real ID Acts that deny<br /> resettlement to those who helped armed groups. Myanmar has charged<br /> that the KLNA and another group, which have been battling for<br /> independence for almost 60 years, are responsible for terrorist<br /> acts, including a pair of bus bombings in June that killed 27<br /> travelers.</p> <p>A year ago, U.S. officials waived the rules and agreed to resettle<br /> up to 15,000 even if they did support armed groups.</p> <p>“Few people are suggesting that terrorists might lurk” among<br /> refugees from this region, said Paul Stein, state refugee<br /> coordinator in Colorado.</p> <p>U.S. security officials “have gone a little bit overboard because<br /> the definition of ‘terrorist group’ is so broad,” said Rachel<br /> O’Hara, director of refugee resettlement and employment for the<br /> U.S. Committee for Refugees, an advocacy group.</p> <p>U.S. officials “have said the government of Burma is committing<br /> atrocities, and yet we term those who fight that government<br /> terrorists? It just doesn’t make any sense,” she said.</p> <p><strong>Bridging cultural chasm</strong></p> <p>For Always Ways and her five children, one of them a disabled<br /> 8-year-old boy, just leaving her apartment is scary.</p> <p>First she got shaken down in the hall by a big man for money.</p> <p>Then one day, when she went to talk with other refugees, police<br /> picked up her 3-year-old, Tah Paw Kwa. He’d left the apartment and<br /> was exploring other buildings. The officer handed her a ticket with<br /> a court date Ways couldn’t comprehend. Children wander constantly<br /> in her home village and Thai camps. Why not in Denver?</p> <p>When she failed to show up in court, police came to arrest her with<br /> handcuffs. Ways panicked, collapsed and was taken to an emergency<br /> room – then jail.</p> <p>A resettlement caseworker and members of a newly formed Colorado<br /> Burma Roundtable Network negotiated her release.</p> <p>Ways now laughs at her misunderstanding, embarrassed. The arrival<br /> of her mother and sister last month may free her to study English<br /> at the Emily Griffith Opportunity School.</p> <p>Such cases consume de facto community leader Rocky Martin, 47, a<br /> Karen-speaking sushi chef who escaped Myanmar a decade ago. He<br /> translates for refugees, warns them about credit cards, escorts<br /> them to emergency rooms and arranges gatherings at a church where<br /> the Karen hold Christian services in downtown Denver.</p> <p>“In jungle, we scared. … We were raped, tortured and killed<br /> because the government people hate the Karen people,” Martin<br /> said.</p> <p>“In the jungle, they can kill the Karen people. But they cannot<br /> kill the soul,” he said. “Here in the United States, good place<br /> to live. But we have to take care of our spiritual welfare. We have<br /> to fight for our soul.”</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/adjusting-to-america-in-a-new-land-new-challenges/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>New Paperwork Sought in Fight for Citizenship</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/new-paperwork-sought-in-fight-for-citizenship/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/new-paperwork-sought-in-fight-for-citizenship/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:01:42 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/new-paperwork-sought-in-fight-for-citizenship/</guid> <description><![CDATA[A standoff between a blind Palestinian computer whiz seeking citizenship and the government intensified Thursday when Homeland Security officials asked him to submit additional tax, employment, passport and other documents before the FBI completes a background check. Zuhair Mahd refused, calling it unjustified legal fishing. A federal judge last week ruled that the government has […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A standoff between a blind Palestinian computer whiz seeking<br /> citizenship and the government intensified Thursday when Homeland<br /> Security officials asked him to submit additional tax, employment,<br /> passport and other documents before the FBI completes a background<br /> check.</p> <p>Zuhair Mahd refused, calling it unjustified legal fishing.</p> <p>A federal judge last week ruled that the government has violated<br /> federal rules in handling Mahd’s case and ordered FBI and<br /> immigration officials to complete the process.</p> <p>“There’s been no transparency in this process, and that’s what<br /> scares me,” Mahd said after meeting with an immigration agent.</p> <p>“I want to be forthcoming. I have nothing to hide. But I get<br /> suspicious,” said Mahd, who has lived in the country legally for<br /> 17 years.</p> <p>Federal officials said they have the right to investigate further.</p> <p>Mahd’s case “certainly has been complicated” by his refusal to<br /> submit more information, said Chris Bentley, spokesman for U.S.<br /> Citizenship & Immigration Services, part of Homeland Security.</p> <p>The order from U.S. District Judge Walker Miller gives the FBI 45<br /> days to complete a background check and then 45 days for<br /> immigration officials to make a decision.</p> <p>Court records show Mahd passed an interview and written tests<br /> required for citizenship in 2004. FBI agents later interviewed him<br /> twice.</p> <p>Federal law says immigrants who pass citizenship tests must be<br /> granted citizenship in 120 days.</p> <p>When Mahd’s quest for citizenship never moved forward, he finally<br /> sued the government and won the order from Miller.</p> <p>U.S. Attorney Troy Eid is weighing whether to appeal Miller’s<br /> ruling.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/new-paperwork-sought-in-fight-for-citizenship/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Closer to the Oath</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/closer-to-the-oath/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/closer-to-the-oath/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 02 Mar 2007 23:46:48 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/closer-to-the-oath/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Ruling may speed up FBI security checks for local Palestinian and other aspiring citizens. A blind Palestinian computer whiz in Denver fought the FBI and Department of Homeland Security without a lawyer – and won. Now his case may help force the FBI to expedite background checks on aspiring citizens. U.S. District Judge Walker Miller […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Ruling may speed up FBI security checks for local Palestinian and other aspiring citizens.</strong></p> <p>A blind Palestinian computer whiz in Denver fought the FBI and<br /> Department of Homeland Security without a lawyer – and won. Now his<br /> case may help force the FBI to expedite background checks on<br /> aspiring citizens.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Walker Miller has ordered the FBI to complete a<br /> stalled background check within 45 days for Zuhair Mahd, 33, who<br /> passed all U.S. citizenship tests in 2004 but still couldn’t get<br /> sworn in.</p> <p>Miller ruled that federal officials violated their own rules in<br /> handling Mahd’s case. The order last week in Mahd’s self-filed<br /> lawsuit set a regional precedent for dozens of similar lawsuits by<br /> mostly Muslim citizenship applicants pending in federal court. It<br /> adds to pressure from federal judges around the country who are<br /> demanding that the FBI complete the security checks – instituted<br /> after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to guard against terrorism – in a<br /> timely manner. Court records show the FBI faces a growing backlog<br /> of 440,000 uncompleted checks.</p> <p>“I would hope I’ve inspired people to take their cases forward,<br /> speak out, and realize they can trust the legal system and feel<br /> vindicated,” Mahd said Wednesday at an apartment where he’s<br /> staying in Aurora.</p> <p>Immigrants often “don’t even know they can seek judicial relief”<br /> when their applications are stalled, he said. Part of his<br /> motivation was “wanting to be sure I’m not living an illusion in a<br /> country that claims to be democratic but really isn’t.”</p> <p>This was Mahd’s first legal case. Born totally blind to Palestinian<br /> refugees in Jordan, Mahd endured poverty and rejection as a<br /> teenager before finding a banker who, with the help of U.S.<br /> officials, bought him a ticket to Boston. Mahd graduated from U.S.<br /> schools, then pioneered Arabic text-to-speech software working for<br /> IBM and as an independent contractor interested in government<br /> business.</p> <p>FBI officials “respect the court’s ruling,” spokesman Paul<br /> Bresson said from Washington. “We will continue to evaluate ways<br /> to improve our ability to process these name checks in a more<br /> expeditious manner.”</p> <p>Delays are caused by “the sheer volume of names submitted” by<br /> multiple government agencies – about 3 million a year, Bresson<br /> said. “Every name is processed thoroughly. We have never<br /> sacrificed security in any way.”</p> <p><strong> FBI could appeal ruling</strong></p> <p>Today, Madh plans to ride the bus to a hearing with immigration<br /> officials that was scheduled before he won his lawsuit. Mary<br /> Mischke, acting Denver district director for U.S. Citizenship and<br /> Immigration Services, part of Homeland Security, had asked him to<br /> present more “evidence,” including tax records, travel documents<br /> and a driver’s license.</p> <p>Mahd said he’s hoping the judge’s order will mean his citizenship<br /> now will be approved.</p> <p>But immigration officials “can’t do anything until we get a clear<br /> record from the FBI,” immigration spokeswoman Maria Elena<br /> Garcia-Upson said. “We owe that to the American public.”</p> <p>Immigration officials “are reviewing” Judge Miller’s order,<br /> Garcia-Upson said, declining to comment further.</p> <p>U.S. Attorney Troy Eid in Colorado, whose office defended the FBI<br /> and Homeland Security against Mahd, is weighing whether to appeal,<br /> his spokesman Jeff Dorschner said.</p> <p>Federal law says immigrants who pass citizenship tests must be<br /> granted citizenship in 120 days. That’s the law Mahd cited in the<br /> legal case he prepared on his home computer.</p> <p>Court records show immigration officials twice asked the FBI to<br /> complete Mahd’s case.</p> <p>The system clearly is broken, and federal court orders like the one<br /> in Denver should force “an improvement in security,” said Crystal<br /> Williams, deputy director of the American Immigration Lawyers<br /> Association.</p> <p>“If there is something wrong with this guy, the judge has ordered<br /> (FBI and immigration officials) to find out once and for all what<br /> it is. If there isn’t anything wrong, then the FBI must clear him.</p> <p>“Federal officials have let this build up, and it’s only going to<br /> build up more if they don’t address it. The FBI needs more<br /> resources to do these checks. And they need to focus them more.”</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/closer-to-the-oath/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Quest to be Citizen Slows</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/quest-to-be-citizen-slows/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/quest-to-be-citizen-slows/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 10 Dec 2006 23:48:31 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Immigrants]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/quest-to-be-citizen-slows/</guid> <description><![CDATA[FBI SUED OVER DELAYS Muslim immigrants often wait years for a background check to become Americans. But officials say they’re not being singled out. Zuhair Mahd of Denver made all the right moves to become a U.S. citizen after escaping poverty and rejection as a blind Palestinian-refugee teenager in Jordan. He found a banker to […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>FBI SUED OVER DELAYS </strong></p> <p><strong>Muslim immigrants often wait years for a background check to become Americans. But officials say they’re not being singled out.</strong></p> <p>Zuhair Mahd of Denver made all the right moves to become a U.S.<br /> citizen after escaping poverty and rejection as a blind<br /> Palestinian-refugee teenager in Jordan.</p> <p>He found a banker to buy him a ticket to Boston. He excelled in<br /> U.S. schools. He pioneered Arabic text-to-speech software and<br /> worked for IBM, honing skills that recruiters for the CIA and other<br /> agencies covet for the war on terrorism.</p> <p>Then he applied for citizenship, passed the tests and waited for an<br /> FBI background check.</p> <p>And waited. And waited.</p> <p>After waiting for two years, Mahd, 33, sued the FBI.</p> <p>Now his case is pending in federal court along with hundreds of<br /> other lawsuits nationwide by Muslims who made the grade to become<br /> citizens but have been delayed while waiting for FBI checks for up<br /> to five years.</p> <p>Applicants for U.S. citizenship come from many nations and<br /> cultures, but most of the lawsuits filed recently in Colorado<br /> involve Muslim immigrants.</p> <p>Federal law says immigrants who pass citizenship tests must be<br /> granted citizenship in 120 days.</p> <p>The lawsuits are getting results. An internal government memo<br /> indicates suing can accelerate FBI action.</p> <p>Yet the core problem is getting worse: a mounting FBI backlog of<br /> unfinished background checks as the nation seeks greater protection<br /> against terrorism. Today’s backlog tops 440,000.</p> <p>FBI officials won’t say how many of those waiting for background<br /> checks are Muslims but insist that the agency is not targeting any<br /> particular group.</p> <p>“There is a backlog,” Special Agent Jeff Lanza said at FBI<br /> headquarters in Washington. “We’re not using ‘backlog’ as a<br /> euphemism for discriminating against Muslims.”</p> <p>After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the government began<br /> requiring FBI background checks on all immigrants poised to become<br /> citizens, increasing the FBI’s workload to about</p> <p>4 million checks a year. The checks are seen as essential to weed<br /> out terrorists.</p> <p>Now these very delays are raising security concerns. People whose<br /> names trigger computer “hits” against federal databases remain in<br /> the country for years.</p> <p>“If there are concerns about these people, why are we just letting<br /> them sit here?” said Crystal Williams, deputy director of the<br /> American Immigration Lawyers Association, a pro-immigration group<br /> in Washington.</p> <p>“This system isn’t working … and nobody’s taking responsibility,”<br /> Williams said.</p> <p>The delays also foster ill will – just as the U.S. government<br /> launches a new campaign to persuade more eligible immigrants to<br /> apply for citizenship. Record numbers choose not to apply.</p> <p>“This is injurious in so many ways. You’re sitting here, singled<br /> out, hanging, with no indication why it’s taking so long,”<br /> Jordanian immigrant Mahd said last week during a defense industry<br /> job fair in Colorado Springs.</p> <p>There, a recruiter who initially was eager to hire him balked when<br /> he learned Mahd still lacked the citizenship required for security<br /> clearances.</p> <p>FBI agents twice visited him at home in Denver, he said, asking if<br /> he’d be willing to work as an informant or monitor online chat<br /> rooms for anything suspicious.</p> <p>“I told them I’m not willing to fill in the blanks when I don’t<br /> know the full story,” he said.</p> <p>“Why the delay? What did I do?”</p> <p>Hundreds of lawsuits against the FBI and Department of Homeland<br /> Security are pending in federal courts nationwide, including<br /> class-action cases in California, Illinois and New York, according<br /> to judicial records and attorneys.</p> <p>The lawsuits ask judges to order completion of background checks –<br /> or waive the checks – so that citizenship is granted within 120<br /> days as required.</p> <p>In Colorado, 31 of the lawsuits have been filed this year. At least<br /> 10 cases recently were settled, with the FBI agreeing to expedite<br /> checks, presumably encouraging more lawsuits. At least 21 cases by<br /> 26 plaintiffs are pending, and federal attorneys report a couple of<br /> new lawsuits filed every week.</p> <p>Colorado Muslim leaders warn that citizenship delays feed a<br /> deepening discontent.</p> <p>“If you want people to be good citizens, you have to make them<br /> feel welcome, not discriminated against,” said Colorado Muslim<br /> Society Imam Ammar Amonette at Denver’s Abu Bakr mosque.</p> <p>Some of those delayed for citizenship have served the U.S. military<br /> as translators in Iraq.</p> <p>Training Iraq-bound U.S. soldiers at Fort Carson, Iraqi refugee<br /> Sattar Khdir, 52, a father of two who needs citizenship to join the<br /> soldiers in battle, said he feels “ashamed. I’m sitting, eating<br /> with the TV, seeing U.S. troops getting killed helping my<br /> people.”</p> <p>Khdir begged FBI and immigration officials repeatedly for a year to<br /> finish his case – “Why don’t you let me go?” – before hiring an<br /> attorney this fall.</p> <p>“This is extremely unfair,” said Denver lawyer Jihad Muhaisen,<br /> whose firm has filed more than 15 lawsuits. Government lawyers<br /> swiftly arranged expedited checks in each case settled so far,<br /> Muhaisen said.</p> <p>Meanwhile, citizenship applications for non-Arab clients “go<br /> through” without delay, he said. “If (Muslims) qualified for<br /> citizenship, they should get citizenship.”</p> <p>A Department of Homeland Security memo reveals that the FBI now<br /> considers a “lawsuit pending in Federal Court” as grounds for<br /> speeding up stalled background checks.</p> <p>FBI agents say they’re working as fast as they can. Lawsuits won’t<br /> intimidate anyone into doing sloppy work, said FBI Special Agent in<br /> Charge Richard Powers in Denver. “We’re going to do it right,<br /> because in some cases to make an error could be grievous. …<br /> Certainly, security is an issue,” Powers said.</p> <p>Suing the government “is an unfortunate way to try to resolve what<br /> is a system that generally works at a very high capacity,” he<br /> said.</p> <p>Frustrations in Denver reached the point last week that Muslim<br /> community leaders, with Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman acting as<br /> a bridge, visited FBI offices. Powers met with the delegation,<br /> explaining how checks are done.</p> <p>Computers at FBI headquarters cross-check names against multiple<br /> databases. Some 62,000 names a week are sent electronically for<br /> background checks. Nearly half are immigrants who have qualified<br /> for citizenship; 85 percent of the checks are completed within<br /> three days.</p> <p>The problem: Names that trigger computer hits require agents to<br /> ferret out data that may span the globe.</p> <p>Demand to do more checks is growing. In 2001, the FBI faced<br /> requests to conduct 2.8 million name checks. Last year, the<br /> requests topped 3.3 million.</p> <p>Federal officials say the backlog is growing as well.</p> <p>Homeland Security officials recently began refusing to schedule<br /> citizenship interviews and tests for anyone until FBI checks are<br /> complete – an effort to reduce the government’s legal exposure.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the government is struggling to reverse what Congress<br /> and others have identified as a worrying trend: More than 7 million<br /> immigrants eligible for citizenship haven’t applied.</p> <p>The government just launched a $6.5 million “Americanization”<br /> campaign to encourage more eligible immigrants to become citizens,<br /> said Alfonso Aguilar, Homeland Security’s chief of citizenship.</p> <p>“Until now, we’ve kind of taken assimilation for granted. The<br /> truth is, we’ve come to the point that Congress and the<br /> administration realize we need to strengthen our assimilation<br /> efforts. If we don’t, we could have a problem” with lack of unity<br /> in the future, Aguilar said.</p> <p>“You cannot preserve a stable democracy if your people aren’t<br /> united by common values.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, government lawyers say they increasingly are diverted<br /> from fighting crime to defending the FBI.</p> <p>U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid estimated that for the amount<br /> of time his staff has devoted this year to defending the FBI, it<br /> could be “putting 50 or more bad guys behind bars.”</p> <p>“This problem appears to be getting worse, not better. … One<br /> obvious solution that could be considered would be to increase the<br /> resources available to the FBI” for checks, he said. “These<br /> background checks need to be done. How they get them done on time<br /> is a public-policy issue that needs to be addressed.”</p> <p><strong>Pressuring the FBI</strong></p> <p>Civil-liberties advocates are demanding that the FBI set and meet<br /> deadlines for background checks on immigrants poised to become U.S.<br /> citizens.</p> <p>Otherwise, the post-9/11 system of having the FBI check names of<br /> all applicants “means they can just keep people waiting for years<br /> and years,” American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ranjana<br /> Nataranjan said.</p> <p>“The question is: Are there legitimate reasons to delay so many<br /> people? We think the answer is no. Somebody isn’t connecting the<br /> dots here. And, if there are real security issues, we don’t want<br /> the FBI to sit on those.”</p> <p>A growing FBI backlog of unfinished checks, and a new immigration<br /> policy of refusing to schedule citizenship tests until FBI checks<br /> are done, is causing havoc and feeding discontent. Hundreds of<br /> mostly Muslim immigrants who have been delayed for up to five years<br /> allege unfair treatment.</p> <p>“When a group is singled out, that’s contrary to our principles,”<br /> said Lema Bashir, legal adviser for the Arab-American<br /> Anti-Discrimination Committee.</p> <p>Delayed immigrants also seek help from members of Congress,<br /> including Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.</p> <p id="1equ" class="ArwC7c ckChnd">“Prompt and thorough background checks are essential for our<br /> nation’s security,” Salazar said Friday. “But we must also<br /> guarantee no one is being denied for the wrong reasons.”</p> <p id="1equ" class="ArwC7c ckChnd"><strong>To become a U.S. citizen, you must:</strong></p> <p id="1equ" class="ArwC7c ckChnd">Live as a legal resident in the country for five years (three if<br /> married to a U.S. citizen) with no absence of more than one year<br /> and at least 30 months of total presence, including three months in<br /> one state or district.</p> <p>Be at least 18 and of good moral character, meaning not a criminal<br /> or habitual drunkard or person who has refused to support<br /> dependents or lied under oath.</p> <p>Pass English-language and civics tests and an interview with a<br /> federal adjudicator.</p> <p>Swear to support the Constitution and obey laws, renounce any<br /> foreign allegiance, and bear arms or perform other government<br /> services when required by law.</p> <p>Give fingerprints for submission to the FBI.</p> <p>Receive FBI clearance after a background check is completed.</p> <p>Average wait time for all applicants: eight months after filing<br /> application.</p> <p>Average number of immigrants who become citizens each year: 5,700<br /> in Colorado; 604,000 nationwide.</p> <p>Number of applications rejected a year: 108,000.</p> <p>Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of<br /> Homeland Security</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/us-role-in-the-world/quest-to-be-citizen-slows/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Africa Lifelines: FBI Cultivating Africans as Security Teammates</title> <link>https://brucefinley.com/africa/africa-lifelines-fbi-cultivating-africans-as-security-teammates/</link> <comments>https://brucefinley.com/africa/africa-lifelines-fbi-cultivating-africans-as-security-teammates/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bruce]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 13 Nov 2005 22:23:06 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Africa Lifelines]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Counter-Terrorism]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Globalization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Migration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[U.S. Role in the World]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://brucefinley.com/africa/africa-lifelines-fbi-cultivating-africans-as-security-teammates/</guid> <description><![CDATA[Denver agent training Kenyan officers in forensics The U.S. views Africa with interest as a frontier for terrorism, but any military acts can stoke resentment. Nairobi, Kenya – Nine thousand miles from his home in Denver, FBI Special Agent Carle Schlaff faced 60 top African detectives packed into a room in Nairobi as part of […]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Denver agent training Kenyan officers in forensics The U.S. views Africa with interest as a frontier for terrorism, but any military acts can stoke resentment.</strong></p> <p><em>Nairobi, Kenya</em> – Nine thousand miles from his home in Denver, FBI Special Agent Carle Schlaff faced 60 top African detectives packed into a room in Nairobi as part of a new U.S. focus on Africa.</p> <p>Schlaff’s mission: to work with these African counterparts on<br /> forensics and cultivate them as security partners.</p> <p>The U.S. government views Africa with renewed interest as a<br /> frontier for terrorism where al-Qaeda and other Islamic radicals<br /> hide. Africa also supplies a growing share of the oil Americans<br /> consume – nearly a fifth.</p> <p>Terrorists in Africa could affect U.S. interests and organize<br /> attacks inside the United States, said William Bellamy, U.S.<br /> ambassador to Kenya.</p> <p>“We try to monitor as best we can” airport travelers to prevent<br /> terrorists from entering America, he said. “But I would not<br /> exclude the possibility that could occur. … It’s certainly<br /> possible.”</p> <p>Kenyan police recently found anti-tank missiles – some U.S.-made – in a terrorism suspect’s apartment at Mombasa, Kenya.</p> <p>The U.S. priority in Africa of combating global terrorism has led<br /> President Bush to deploy military forces at a growing network of<br /> bases from Algeria to Uganda – in a pattern Bush set after the<br /> Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.</p> <p>About 1,600 U.S. soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors are posted<br /> in Djibouti at a base called Camp Lemonier, a former French Foreign<br /> Legion outpost. It is the first large long-term deployment of U.S.<br /> forces to Africa.</p> <p>Bush also sent special forces soldiers to Mali, Chad and Niger for<br /> exercises with local forces against radical Muslims.</p> <p>And U.S. officials have delivered more than $152 million in weapons<br /> to sub-Saharan Africa since 2001, up from $92 million during the<br /> previous four years.</p> <p>But the military approach stokes resentment. African leaders say<br /> they’re more interested in fighting worsening poverty than serving<br /> U.S. interests.</p> <p>African authorities believe young men were willing to join<br /> anti-U.S. groups “because they had no jobs,” said Nicholas<br /> Kamwende, commander of the Kenyan National Police anti-terrorism unit.</p> <p>“We think fighting poverty is one of our ways of fighting<br /> terrorism,” he said.</p> <p>Kamwende said the United States traditionally has used skillful<br /> diplomacy and developmental aid to help Africa address water,<br /> health care and economic needs.</p> <p>Tensions are mounting. Kenyan courts recently acquitted several<br /> terrorism suspects indicted in the United States, and Kenyan<br /> lawmakers have refused to pass an anti-terrorism law.</p> <p>U.S. State Department officials say savvy cops such as Schlaff, who<br /> also has worked in Botswana and the Red Sea area, can be more<br /> effective than soldiers in helping locals root out terrorists.</p> <p>In a spartan conference hall in Nairobi, Schlaff wore a sport shirt<br /> and slacks instead of the camouflage fatigues that mark most U.S.<br /> warriors.</p> <p>He smiled the way he might over coffee back home as the African<br /> detectives in coats and ties stood quiet. He handed out FBI pins,<br /> patches, fingerprint kits and cameras. He showed photos of his<br /> family in the Colorado mountains.</p> <p>He told of his forensics work on the FBI team that investigated the<br /> bombing of the USS Cole warship that killed 17 sailors. Schlaff<br /> helped dredge the harbor off Yemen and found part of an outboard<br /> motor that cracked the case.</p> <p>The attentiveness of Kenyan police officers impressed him, Schlaff<br /> said.</p> <p>“Their focus is street crime. We’re not suggesting a different<br /> focus. We’re just trying to make them aware there could be a<br /> terrorism matter involved.”</p> <p>Now, Schlaff is back in the United States. But detectives he<br /> coached are working in Eastleigh, a Somali-run ghetto on the<br /> outskirts of Nairobi, trying to recruit sources, offering money for<br /> tips.</p> <p>They’ve discovered funds flowing from Somalia to Eastleigh for<br /> construction of shopping malls. They’re investigating who might be<br /> sinking roots or raising money in Kenya.</p> <p>These efforts bore out Schlaff’s conclusions. Street-</p> <p>level police when treated with respect “are genuinely interested<br /> in working with us” against terrorism, he said.</p> <p>“If you want to convince people Americans are not the aggressor, I<br /> think you’ve got to do it by being there low on the ground.”</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://brucefinley.com/africa/africa-lifelines-fbi-cultivating-africans-as-security-teammates/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>