If President Bush seriously wonders why Congress hasn’t passed his crime bill in 100 days he might refer to the bills contents. Tucked away in its 166 pages is a section called “Terrorist Alien Removal” one of many proposals that Congress is wisely ignoring. It would| create a flagrantly unjust system for deporting foreigners deemed to have terrorist connections using secret charges and secret evidence.
Consider how loose the definition of “terrorist.” is an alien who raised money for the African National Congress or the Palestine liberation Organization could be deported without seeing more than bare outline of the charges i the Justice Department wanted to call those organizations terrorist. Justice could make a secret arrest and secretly detain the alien while applying secretly for a court hearing.
That hearing would be open but the Government could offer is evidence in secret and say what parts of it if any could be disclosed to the accused the Government could if it wished give the accused a written outline of the evidence or a document saying that for national security reasons no summary was possible. Should the judge one of five Federal judges picked for this terror court by the Chief Justice happen to rule against the Government on any point the Justice Department could make a swift secret appeal?
All this is needed says the Justice Department because the Government must keep its Secrets while guarding against terrorism. But Justice hasn’t even begun to explain to Congress in public or private how giving an accused person the rudiments of due process a5 our courts have required would threaten national safety.
This bill would make the United States look as foolish and unjust as Kuwait does with its postwar kangaroo courts. A 100 days to enact this law? Not in a 100 years.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 3, 1992
