The American Civil Liberties Union is offering assistance for Middle Eastern men being asked to participate in the Department of Justice’s terrorism investigation.
The Know Your Rights telephone hotline, (313)578-6806, was initiated Friday. The project is sponsored by the ACLU, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the National Lawyers Guild and ACCESS, a program that helps translate documents for immigrants.
The hotline’s purpose is to inform those being questioned about their constitutional rights, what the FBI will ask and information about the option to bring an attorney to an interview.
Also, those who call will be informed of the possibility of being detained or deported if the FBI determines the person has lied or overstayed their visa.
Since the investigation began, about 5,000 Middle Eastern men have been asked to be interviewed - about 840 of whom are in Michigan.
Michael J. Steinberg, legal director at the Detroit-based ACLU of Michigan, said his organization intends to help Middle Eastern men who are concerned about being interviewed.
“We were very concerned that innocent men were being interviewed without knowing their constitutional rights and without knowing the possible adverse consequences of agreeing to be questioned,” he said. “The Department of Justice guidelines suggest that the FBI will be seeking more than simply information about possible terrorist activities.”
Steinberg said the questions being asked resemble an interrogation.
“They ask about political beliefs, the phone numbers of family and friends and they ask if the person knows of any crimes that have been committed,” he said.
“As we have seen with the indefinite detention of numerous immigrants for nonterrorist activities, if the FBI determines that there is a minor immigration infraction, they can be detained or deported.”
Henry Silverman, president of the Lansing branch of the ACLU, said many Middle Eastern men are not adequately aware of their rights.
“The reason we did it was we had a number of calls from people who were concerned that they needed some kind of legal advice,” Silverman said.
“There is nothing in the procedure that allows these individuals being invited to have an attorney present.”
Fahmi Atwain, the Muslim Students’ Association adviser , said he thinks the hotline will be beneficial for those who decide to use it.
“I think it’s a great thing because a lot of people are afraid,” the computer engineering junior said.
“They think there is going to be secret evidence taken for no reason. I think it’s a good thing to call in and see exactly what their rights are so they wouldn’t be nervous or worried too much.”
