2 US citizen barred from reentry

[link|http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/26/LODI.TMP|SFGate]

The federal government has barred two relatives of a Lodi man convicted of supporting terrorists from returning to the country after a lengthy stay in Pakistan, placing the U.S. citizens in an extraordinary legal limbo.

Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with a crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi cherry packer who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp.

Federal authorities said Friday that the men, both Lodi residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan.

Given their connections to a known criminal, I can see putting them through the wringer when they come in. But they are citizens, either you let them in or you arrest them and charge them with something on the way in. Giving the US government the power to stop US citizens from reentry is just a terribly bad idea. Anything else pretty much gives the government the power to revoke your citizenship at whim any time you leave the country.

Jay

Post #265,896 by JayMehaffey 8/26/06 5:21:16 PM Reply	2 US citizen barred from reentry [link\|http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/26/LODI.TMP\|SFGate] The federal government has barred two relatives of a Lodi man convicted of supporting terrorists from returning to the country after a lengthy stay in Pakistan, placing the U.S. citizens in an extraordinary legal limbo. Muhammad Ismail, a 45-year-old naturalized citizen born in Pakistan, and his 18-year-old son, Jaber Ismail, who was born in the United States, have not been charged with a crime. However, they are the uncle and cousin of Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi cherry packer who was convicted in April of supporting terrorists by attending a Pakistani training camp. Federal authorities said Friday that the men, both Lodi residents, would not be allowed back into the country unless they agreed to FBI interrogations in Pakistan. An attorney representing the family said agents have asked whether the younger Ismail trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan. Given their connections to a known criminal, I can see putting them through the wringer when they come in. But they are citizens, either you let them in or you arrest them and charge them with something on the way in. Giving the US government the power to stop US citizens from reentry is just a terribly bad idea. Anything else pretty much gives the government the power to revoke your citizenship at whim any time you leave the country. Jay
Post #265,944 by boxley 8/27/06 11:33:33 AM Reply	not quite correct barring re-entry can be done if the citizen has revoked his citizenship, not the case here but think back to world war II. If a naturalized german came from germany circa 1944 having livedf there since 1933 and looked well fed and prosperous. Chances are he would have been given the gimlet eyeball as well. thanx, bill Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 50 years. meep
Post #266,054 by jb4 8/28/06 9:35:27 AM Reply	"terribly bad ides[s]" here? In the USofA?!? WDYHASM? jb4 "So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't." — Stephen Colbert, at the White House Correspondent's Dinner 29Apr06
Post #266,151 by JayMehaffey 8/28/06 4:59:18 PM Reply	Hey My spelling is bad enough, don't quote it wrong. Jay
Post #266,177 by jb4 8/28/06 6:14:34 PM Reply	Don't misconstrue a fatfinger as a misquote... (Isn't there a corrollary of Occam's Gillette in there somewhere?) jb4 "So don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68% of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68% approve of the job he's not doing? Think about it. I haven't." — Stephen Colbert, at the White House Correspondent's Dinner 29Apr06

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