If the INS does not apply this law retrospectively, why did
the following happen?
Minor immigration slip becomes costly
INS: Palestinian faces ouster on little-used law
Mark Bixler - Staff
Wednesday, July 10, 2002
The federal government wants to deport a legal immigrant from the West Bank because he failed to promptly report a change of address, an unusual effort that highlights the enforcement of minor laws to fight suspicions of terrorism.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service went to court in Atlanta on Tuesday in an attempt to ship out Thar Abdeljaber, a 30-year-old Palestinian father of five.
The INS says he broke a law requiring the 17.8 million noncitizens in the United States to report address changes within 10 days of moving.
It's a law that even the INS admits it rarely enforces, a sentiment echoed by immigration lawyers.
"The reality is that nobody is deported on the basis of that simple a violation," said Jeanne Butterfield, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It's ridiculous."
In fact, the INS' own guidelines say failure to report an address change "shall not normally serve as the sole basis for . . . deportation."
So how did Abdeljaber end up in an orange jail jumpsuit, hands cuffed to his waist?
One Tuesday in March, police in Raleigh clocked him driving four miles over the speed limit.
A police officer pulled him over and found several thousand dollars in cash, as well as North Carolina maps with red circles drawn around some cities.
Soon FBI agents were asking Abdeljaber about terrorism.
"They were asking him, 'Why did you make circles on a map? Those circles are close to airports,' " said Khitam Abu Sabi, his wife.
Abdeljaber told them he drew circles around places with flea markets and "swap meets and Mexican stores," an INS report says. Abdeljaber travels to such places to sell electronic equipment he buys through the mail, relatives said.
The FBI did not charge him with a crime, but INS agents joined the investigation.
They discovered Abdeljaber was a legal permanent resident who came to the United States in 1998 on a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority. He came to join his wife, who also is a legal resident and had moved to the United States earlier.
They have two children who are U.S. citizens, two others who are legal residents, and a daughter born in the West Bank who is on the path to legally moving to this country.
During the investigation, the INS found out that Abdeljaber had moved from South Florida to suburban Richmond around 1999, to live near a sister, but that he did not notify the agency within 10 days. Agents arrested and jailed him. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Raleigh and was sentenced to 25 days in jail, which he served.
Following his sentence, the INS kept Abdeljaber behind bars and began proceedings to deport him.
On Tuesday, a government lawyer told an immigration judge the INS had concerns about Abdeljaber's "identity and activities," but did not elaborate. Abdeljaber's attorney, Charles Kuck of Atlanta, was furious.
"He's committed no crime other than not changing his address," he said.
The topic of terrorism never came up, and the government agreed with Kuck to recommend a $5,800 bond. The bond will let Abdeljaber get out of jail for the first time in four months. He will remain free until the deportation proceedings are concluded.
Kuck said he hopes Abdeljaber can stay in the United States.
"They couldn't get anything else on this guy. They want to get rid of him because he's Palestinian," he said. "Let's focus our attention on getting rid of immigrant criminals, but not changing your address? That's silly."
W. Fred Alexander, deputy director of the INS in Atlanta, conceded that the agency rarely charges noncitizens with failing to report an address change, a requirement that dates to the 1950s.
He declined to go into detail about the case, except to say the agency will "listen to the defense" before deciding what course to pursue.
Butterfield, of the immigration lawyers' group, said the case is part of a larger trend since Sept. 11 to enforce laws once considered minor, such as overstaying a visa.
She expects more address-change violations after the INS starts a program this fall. It will require about 100,000 foreign visitors to register, give fingerprints and check in periodically with the INS.
Authorities say it would help them keep track of people who could threaten national security, but Butterfield worries about abuses.
"They're using the immigration laws to go after people that they don't have any basis to go after under the criminal laws," she said. "I think it's appalling."
U.S. to require noncitizens to report their addresses
By FRANK DAVIES and CASSIO FURTADO
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced Monday it intends to use criminal penalties against
immigrants and foreign visitors who fail to notify the government of a change of address within 10
days.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the move would help secure U.S. borders by making it easier to
track noncitizens. The 10-day notice requirement has long been on the books but is widely ignored
and rarely enforced.
"By clarifying the existing requirement that noncitizens report their address to the Immigration
and Naturalization Service, we are able to increase our ability to locate quickly an alien if
removal proceedings must be initiated," said Ashcroft.
The INS plans to enforce the regulation after a 60-day comment period. The action affects all legal
permanent residents, (immigrants who are not citizens) - at least 11 million people, according to
an INS spokeswoman - and visitors and students who stay in the United States more than 30 days.
It's unclear how many of them are untraceable now, but the INS clearly perceives a problem.
"The INS does not have current address information for many noncitizens who have entered the United
States, whether as temporary visitors, applicants for asylum or for other purposes," said a Justice
Department statement.
Immigration advocates denounced the plan as heavy-handed and unworkable, saying the INS will not be
able to handle the paperwork.
"It's sheer fantasy to think the INS can handle the avalanche of information under this mandate,"
said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the Washington-based National Immigration Forum. "This
initiative is going to leave a pervasive feeling in immigrant communities that they're all under
suspicion."
Bush administration officials said the initiative was intended to make it easier to track down
visitors and other immigrants who enter the nation legally but later arouse suspicion.
It was unclear whether the measure would have allowed for better tracking of the terrorists in the
Sept. 11 attacks. They moved frequently without reporting it and many had overstayed their visas.
On the other hand, two who were on the CIA's "watch list" of suspected terrorists would have been
easy to find. They listed their addresses and phone numbers in the San Diego phone book.
Because the regulation will affect all immigrants who are not citizens, some advocacy groups
worried that the INS might use it to deport law-abiding immigrants merely suspected of terrorist
connections.
"The people who are going to be caught up in (the regulation) are people who haven't done anything
wrong," said Cecilia Munoz, a spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy
group in Washington.
Judy Golub, a lawyer with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the regulation would
lead to more litigation, with immigrants and the INS blaming each other for losing paperwork.
Golub is advising all immigrants to send change-of-address notices by certified mail.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he hoped the
proposed rule wouldn't target Muslims unfairly.
"If laws are enforced across the board and without any bias, we have no problem," Hooper said.
Kelley of the Immigration Forum said immigrants would fear harsh enforcement for a minor offense.
"You could find yourself seeing jail time or proceeding toward deportation for the equivalent of
not turning in a library book on time," she said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on July 10 that the INS is seeking to deport Thar
Abdeljaber, a 30-year-old Palestinian who is a legal immigrant, for his admitted failure to provide
the INS with his new address after he left South Florida in 1999.
Abdeljaber was stopped in March in Raleigh, N.C., for driving four miles over the speed limit.
Police officers found several thousand dollars and a map of North Carolina with red circles drawn
around some cities.
Abdeljaber told them he drew circles around places with flea markets and "swap meets and Mexican
stores," an INS report says.
Relatives said Abdeljaber traveled to those cities to resell electronic equipment he bought through
the mail.
He is not charged with any other crime.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1304.html
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1305.html
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1306.html
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/ar-11.pdf