Posted on: Friday, March 28, 2003
Scrutiny of U.S. Iraqis should be low key
About 50,000 Iraqis live in the United States, and each one can soon expect a visit from the FBI.
So far, the FBI has interviewed more than 5,000 of them in an effort to uncover potential terrorists. In addition, at least 30 Iraqis have been detained on immigration charges such as expired visas under new authority bestowed on the Justice Department.
In this era of heightened security, it makes sense that checks should be made on Iraqis who have made themselves worthy of suspicion by illegally entering the country or overstaying their visas.
But let's call this what it is: profiling.
Iraqis are being asked, Where are you from? Who's in your family? Do you know any terrorists? Have you served in the Iraqi army?
One Iraqi in California says he came home to two FBI agents who asked him to answer more than three dozen questions in minute detail.
The interviews are supposed to be voluntary, but turning away an FBI agent is sure to land an Iraqi on a suspect list.
Ironically, many Iraqis in the United States fled Saddam Hussein's tyranny after the 1991 Gulf War because they were of Kurdish ancestry, were part of the Shiite Muslim majority in Iraq that was largely frozen out of political power, or were out-of-favor Christians.
That's not to say there are no Saddam sympathizers in the United States, and we expect the FBI to keep close tabs on them.
As for most Iraqis, some are willing to put up with a certain level of scrutiny for the sake of security. Others are understandably intimidated and humiliated, particularly when the FBI asks employers, co-workers or neighbors about them.
Of course, this campaign is nothing close to what Japanese Americans endured during World War II when they were forced to abandon their homes and businesses and live in internment camps.
Nor do we expect a repeat of that dark era. But that doesn't mean we should not remain vigilant that the civil and legal rights of legitimate residents are protected.
And we must be wary about singling out people solely on the basis of their ethnicity or national origin.
