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Dear Mr. Brown Person...

13:58 / 27.11.01

quote:"As you know, law enforcement officers and federal agents have been acquiring information that may be helpful in determining the persons responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon. Furthermore, they are pursuing all leads that may assist in preventing any further attacks. I am asking that you assist us in this important investigation.
"Your name was brought to our attention because,among other things, you came to Michigan on a visa from a country where there are groups that support, advocate, or finance
international terrorism. We have no reason to
believe that you are, in any way, associated with terrorist activities.

Authorities in Michigan sent this letter to about 700 young men of Middle Eastern descent this week.

17:05 / 27.11.01

from the article this text is linked to:

Just last week, authorities said they would arrive unannounced, sparking outcry about civil rights implications. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins said Monday that officials opted to send letters after meeting with area Arab-American leaders, because the approach was deemed less threatening.

The revised procedure comes amid concerns from the Detroit area's large Arab-American community and complaints from civil rights advocates who have said the strategy is ethnic profiling.

So far I have heard nothing about this happening in other states, and the article mentions that Michigan is the only state involved.

Collins said Monday he would not engage in "what-ifs" about people who do not respond to the letters. But the FBI's Bell said follow-up visits to the homes of those people would be likely.

hmmm...

13:50 / 28.11.01

I read in the paper last week the number of people of 'Middle Eastern descent' who have been arrested on terror charges in the US since Sept. 11th.

Don't remember the exact number, but it was well over 1000.

I'll just add that to the big list of dreadful things someone really should be doing something about, shall I?

18:02 / 28.11.01

This analysis is more about the PATRIOT Act than about the letters sent in Michigan, but has some bearing on the matter:

Concern has also been voiced over the prospect of racial profiling - suspects being rounded up on the basis of their ethnic background rather than specific criminal evidence.

John Ashcroft has indicated that he wants to see up to 5,000 men aged between 18 and 35 who entered the United States on non-immigrant visas since 1 January 2000 interviewed by police.

According to a recent report in the New York Times, many US police chiefs are worried what a new era of federally sponsored racial profiling will do to race relations in communities across America.

The American Civil Liberties Union has released a "Know Your Rights" pamphlet in seven languages, including Arabic, to advise non-citizens who might be questioned by the authorities.

People in DC are starting to get pissed off, and that's good.

The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, has been particularly critical of John Ashcroft.

He told NBC's "Meet the Press" on 25 November that "the attorney general owes the country ... certainly owes the Congress ... an explanation."

Senator Leahy also warned that by ignoring some historic tenants of the American criminal justice system, the US risked looking "like some of the things we are fighting against".