SCOTUS rules Pakistani cannot sue officials over 9/11 detention
May 19, 2009
Washington, DC -- The Supreme Court served notice Monday that it would set a high bar for anyone seeking to hold top government officials liable for abuse suffered by prisoners held as part of the Bush administration's war on terrorism.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy spoke for a 5-4 majority in throwing out a lawsuit against former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III that claimed the two ordered the roundup of hundreds of Muslim men after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
'It should come as no surprise that a legitimate policy directing law enforcement to arrest and detain individuals because of their suspected link to the attacks would produce a disparate, incidental impact on Arab Muslims, even though the purpose of the policy was to target neither Arabs nor Muslims,' Kennedy said. 'The Sept. 11 attacks were perpetrated by 19 Arab Muslim hijackers who counted themselves members in good standing of Al Qaeda, an Islamic fundamentalist group.'
The Los Angeles Times
This entry is in the following archive(s): US
More Immigration Stories From US
Admin. presses expansion of Secure Communities
May 19, 2009
Washington, DC -- The Obama administration is expanding a program initiated by President George W. Bush aimed at checking the immigration status of virtually every person booked into local jails. In four years, the measure could result in a tenfold...
Continue Reading
$100m allocated to border technology program
May 19, 2009
The Homeland Security Department plans to spend $100 million in economic stimulus funding to install border surveillance technology and improve tactical communications, according to a planning document published online. The stimulus law Congress passed in February restored money to Customs...
Continue Reading
DHS chief 'straddles' political divide
May 19, 2009
Washington, DC -- The day before she mounted her first campaign for public office, Janet Napolitano, then a federal prosecutor, held a news conference with one of the most polarizing figures in law enforcement: Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County....
Continue Reading
Senate bill would rescind important aspects of REAL ID
May 19, 2009
Federal and state officials have drafted legislation to replace a controversial 2005 law that set national standards for driver's licenses and identification cards, but critics say the proposal would not guarantee enough security. The legislation is expected to be introduced...
Continue Reading
DREAM Act gathering steam in Congress
May 19, 2009
Walter Lara is a scared 3-year-old, crouching with his mother under a stopped train. She holds him close and whispers to stay quiet as footsteps approach. Then he wakes up. Only in his dreams does Lara, 23, remember his illegal...
Continue Reading