Hundreds were arrested in Los Angeles alone

LOS ANGELES, December 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – About two thousand angry Iranian-Americans on Wednesday, December 18, protested the detention of Middle Eastern men who were picked up when they voluntarily reported to register with authorities.

Scores of male immigrants who turned up Monday, December 16, to register under tightened new U.S. immigration rules targeting Iranian, Iraqi, Libyan, Sudanese and Syrian nationals were detained when they turned up, according to reports.

The protesters raised placards and chanted in the streets of Los Angeles demanding the release of people held when they obeyed requirements to register under a new system aimed at cracking down on terrorists, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Some brandished signs reading, “Stop human rights violations against Iranians,” “What happened to liberty and justice,” “What’s next? Concentration camps?” and “Free our fathers, brothers, husbands and sons.”

“Detain terrorists, not innocent immigrants,” one sign read, CNN’s online news service reported.

“All Iranians that live in America (are) hard-working people,” said demonstrator Ali Bozorgmehr. “They are educated people. They love this country and all ... are against terrorism, against terrorism.”

The government “has just been taking way too long to process files,” said another female protester.

“And we don’t see why that is our fault. We don’t see why we have to pay for it,” she said.

While U.S. immigration officials refused to comment on the number of detentions, police in California and reports said that at least 90 were picked up in San Diego and Orange County areas alone, and that hundreds may have been held in Los Angeles.

Male visitors from the designated countries who were 16 years or older and had overstayed their student, tourist or business visas were immediately arrested, even if they had already applied for legal residency.

Most of those detained posted bail, but now face deportation hearings.

“These people came in voluntarily. They wanted to comply with the law. This is the worst violation of human rights,” attorney Soheila Jonoubi told the Los Angeles Times.

Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman Francisco Arcaude, however, defended the action saying that naturalized U.S. citizens, residents with green card permits and asylum seekers were unaffected by the move.

“Only visitors who come from areas where there are suspected terrorist issues (are affected), and we are doing this for the national security of the United States,” he said.

Monday was the first registration deadline set by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for some 35 million citizens of targeted countries to register in an operation expected to take three years.

Three major deadlines have been set for foreigners from 17 countries, with the next falling on January 10 for citizens of Afghanistan, Lebanon, Eritrea, North Korea, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Under the registration scheme, men who are required to register are photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed before being put on a list.