Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
October 14, 2008
Pg. 10
Opposing View
Releasing Uighurs into U.S. could imperil Americans, detainees.
By Lindsey Graham
In ordering the release of 17 Uighurs held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Judge Ricardo Urbina stated that "normally …the court would have no reason to insinuate itself into a field normally dominated by the political branches; however, the circumstances now pending …are exceptional."
The circumstances in this case are indeed exceptional, and the judge's decision to release these detainees into American neighborhoods is unprecedented. The decision is a dangerous precedent in the war on terror that, should it stand, could imperil U.S. citizens and the detainees themselves.
The Uighurs received terrorist training in Afghanistan and were captured by the military while fleeing Tora Bora in late 2001. The U.S. government no longer treats the detainees as enemy combatants but is prohibited from returning them to China for fear they might be mistreated.
The State Department continues working to settle the detainees in another country, as it has with previous Uighur detainees released from our custody.
Unfortunately, by ordering the Uighurs released into the USA, Judge Urbina not only cut short the government's efforts to relocate the detainees, but he also disregarded immigration law. Federal law clearly states that people who have engaged in terrorist activities are inadmissible into the U.S. Just as the ban on repatriating detainees to their countries in the face of possible torture must be respected, so must the prohibition on admitting those with terrorist training into the USA.
Sen. Joe Lieberman and I recently introduced the Enemy Combatant Detention Review Act to deal with this issue. Under our proposal, we again make it clear that courts are prohibited from releasing detainees into the U.S.
Instead, detainees awaiting release would be transferred to the custody of immigration officials and held separately at Guantanamo Bay from enemy combatants, while the government works expeditiously to transfer them to another country.
Detainees awaiting release should be freed as soon as possible, but only while respecting existing law and protecting U.S. citizens.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., serves on the judiciary and armed services committees.
October 14, 2008
Pg. 10
Opposing View
Releasing Uighurs into U.S. could imperil Americans, detainees.
By Lindsey Graham
In ordering the release of 17 Uighurs held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Judge Ricardo Urbina stated that "normally …the court would have no reason to insinuate itself into a field normally dominated by the political branches; however, the circumstances now pending …are exceptional."
The circumstances in this case are indeed exceptional, and the judge's decision to release these detainees into American neighborhoods is unprecedented. The decision is a dangerous precedent in the war on terror that, should it stand, could imperil U.S. citizens and the detainees themselves.
The Uighurs received terrorist training in Afghanistan and were captured by the military while fleeing Tora Bora in late 2001. The U.S. government no longer treats the detainees as enemy combatants but is prohibited from returning them to China for fear they might be mistreated.
The State Department continues working to settle the detainees in another country, as it has with previous Uighur detainees released from our custody.
Unfortunately, by ordering the Uighurs released into the USA, Judge Urbina not only cut short the government's efforts to relocate the detainees, but he also disregarded immigration law. Federal law clearly states that people who have engaged in terrorist activities are inadmissible into the U.S. Just as the ban on repatriating detainees to their countries in the face of possible torture must be respected, so must the prohibition on admitting those with terrorist training into the USA.
Sen. Joe Lieberman and I recently introduced the Enemy Combatant Detention Review Act to deal with this issue. Under our proposal, we again make it clear that courts are prohibited from releasing detainees into the U.S.
Instead, detainees awaiting release would be transferred to the custody of immigration officials and held separately at Guantanamo Bay from enemy combatants, while the government works expeditiously to transfer them to another country.
Detainees awaiting release should be freed as soon as possible, but only while respecting existing law and protecting U.S. citizens.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., serves on the judiciary and armed services committees.