In August of 2004, reports surfaced indicating that the U.S. Census Bureau had
taken the extraordinary step of forwarding vast amounts of information on Arab-Americans to the Homeland Security Department.
The information, provided by the Census Bureau to Customs, includes specific data on the Arab American population in the United States, broken down by population size (1000 or more Arab Americans) as well as by zip-code. Troublingly, the data are further delineated by the specific ancestry or national-origin of the Arab Americans.
Please join me on the flip.
I could not find the article to show the relevant quote, but I remember this story very well, particularly because of my interest in civil rights and the fact that I am a Lebanese-American.
The initial defense of this from the Homeland Security Department was that it wanted to be able to post signs in airports in Arabic in cities where such signs would be warranted by the concentration of an Arabic-speaking population. The absurdity of that is, of course, overshadowed by the perils of the monitoring of a population of people and the similarities it indicates with the U.S.'s treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
Until now, however, there was no indication that such orders had derived from the President, as was the case when FDR signed Executive Order 9066. That has now changed. But I digress.
In the fall of 2004, news reports surfaced regarding the so-called "October Plan." It was described as follows by CBS News:
(CBS) Convinced that al Qaeda is still determined to disrupt the U.S. fall elections by an attack on the homeland, FBI officials here are preparing a massive counter-offensive of interrogations, surveillance and possible detentions they hope will disrupt the terrorist plans, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.
FBI field offices and Homeland Security agencies will be advised of "extraordinary measures" that will go into place "beginning the first week of October through the elections."
An internal e-mail advisory to supervisory agents this week from the FBI's "'04 Threat Task Force" said the purpose of the counter-offensive is "to foster the impression that law enforcement is focused on individuals who may be a threat."
Specifically, the plan calls for "aggressive - even obvious - surveillance" techniques to be used on a short list of people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime. Other "persons of interest," including their family members, may also be brought in for questioning, one source said.
All recent truck thefts, chemical thefts and suspicious cargo truck rentals will also be reviewed as part of the plan. Mosques will be revisited and members asked whether they've observed any suspicious behavior.
I could not find information as to whether or not warrants would be utilized in the surveillance, but I think it's fair to assume that that is doubtful considering the latest revelations from the NYTimes.
Worse, I found this information from the Immigration News Briefs, indicating that 2,000 people had been under surveillance, and that the plan would continue through the January inauguration of the next president:
The government's "October Plan," allegedly aimed at preventing terrorist attacks before the elections [see INB 10/23/04], has been extended and will continue through the presidential inauguration in January. "We continue to remain concerned about Al-Qaeda's desire to attack the US, and there are a number of important symbolic events ahead of us, including the holiday period and the inauguration," said Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Katy Mynster. Also included is the Feb. 6 Super Bowl football tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.
ICE authorities said on Nov. 5 that they had arrested 237 people in October whose tourist visas had expired or who were in the US on student visas but were not attending school. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned more than 10,000 people who were Muslim or of Middle Eastern backgrounds, and had 2,000 people in the US under surveillance at various times, law enforcement officials said. [LA Times 11/6/04; NY Post 11/6/04; Associated Press 11/4/04] According to intelligence and FBI officials, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is also working closely with the FBI on domestic terror investigations, providing instant access to international databases to determine whether suspects might have contacts with terror organizations abroad. [USA Today 11/8/04]
This raises myriad more questions then it answers, of course, but it certainly adds on to the copious amount of activity that one would deem unconstitutional that is being openly practiced by this Administration.
Please help me pass this information along so we can add it to our "case" against the President's illegal tactics in the War on Terror.