“This report, which mirrors many of our own findings, sheds more light on the injustices suffered by those detained in the United States after September 11,” said Rebecca Thornton, spokesperson for the group and staff attorney at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. “It documents numerous abuses in the Justice Department’s fight against terrorism. We call on members of Congress to question Attorney General John Ashcroft on the report’s findings when the House Judiciary Committee convenes for oversight hearings this week.”

The report illustrates that the Justice Department has mischaracterized the detainees as “suspected terrorists.” In one comment, the OIG states, “As a threshold matter, we question the criteria (or lack thereof) the FBI used to make its initial designation of the potential danger posed by September 11 detainees…we believe the FBI should have exercised more care in the classification process, given the significant ramifications on detainees’ freedom of movement and association… ” (p.158)

The OIG report confirmed many of the injustices that members of the group had been highlighting since the arrests and detentions began. Among these were considerable problems with how Justice Department agencies arrested, charged and assigned the men to detention facilities; patterns of physical and verbal abuse at New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC); overly restrictive policies regarding access to legal counsel; and detaining the men even after final deportation papers had been issued.

Many of these actions, whether they fell under the domain of the former INS, DHS or Justice Department, are in violation of both the U.S. Constitution and international human rights laws. For example, the arbitrary and unnecessarily prolonged detentions reported by the OIG violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the United States is a party. Indeed, in many cases the treatment of detainees violated the INS’s own detention standards.

While wide-ranging, the OIG report did not address certain abuses connected with the September 11 investigation and DOJ practices. For example, the OIG report did not discuss the refusal of the DOJ to disclose the names of the detainees and their lawyers or the policy to close deportation proceedings to the public and the press. The report also did not address the misuse of material witness warrants to secure the detention of persons who could not be held on immigration or criminal charges.

In addition, detainees and their family members continued to report ill-treatment and violations of basic rights even as the OIG was concluding its research.

“These report findings show that the treatment of these individuals violated the very notion of fairness and justice. The FBI, the Justice Department and other relevant agencies must immediately implement the OIG’s recommendations,” Thornton said. “We also ask the Justice Department to address concerns that fall outside the scope of this report, such as the disturbing level of secrecy surrounding the identities of those detained. This serious lack of public accountability completely undermines the United States’ commitment to providing liberty and justice for all.”

Many of the undersigned organizations met with the OIG during the course of its investigation to present their observations and concerns regarding the September 11 immigration detainees.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey
American Friends Service Committee, Immigrant Rights Program
American Immigration Law Foundation
Amnesty International USA
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Center for Constitutional Rights
Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants
Columbia Human Rights Clinic
Council on American-Islamic Relations of New Jersey (CAIR-NJ)
Council on American-Islamic Relations of New York (CAIR-NY)
Desi’s Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)
Human Rights Watch
International Human Rights Law Group
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief
Law Offices of Claudia Slovinsky
Law Offices of Sandra P. Nichols
Law Offices of Sohail Mohammed
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Legal Aid Society of New York
New York Area Muslim Bar Association
New York Civil Liberties Union
New York Immigration Coalition
New York State Defenders Association Immigrant Defense Project
Post September 11 Civil and Human Rights Project of Building Resistance