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City of Paterson, NJ passes resolution to condemn parts of the 2001 Patriot Act.

Aref Assaf, president of ADCNJ to introduce resolutions opposing the Patriot Act and Affirming Civil Rights of All Americans.

ADCNJ has embarked on a mission to introduce and help pass resolutions that oppose the Patriot Act as it has affected the civil rights of all Americans. Resolutions are to be introduced to the governing council of many northern NJ towns, cities and boroughs. We are delighted that many other civil rights organizations have expressed their desire to work with ADCNJ to ensure the widest possible representation from amongst the various ethnic, religious and political entities in NJ.

ADCNJ has joined a state-wide effort that to result in a resolution by the NJ Sate Legislature to oppose the Patriot Act.

Paterson Council shows its patriotism

Friday, June 11, 2004
EDITORIAL BY THE HERALD NEWS

While it has no legal impact, the Paterson City Council did the right thing on Wednesday when it condemned portions of the U.S. Patriot Act. Congress passed the legislation in haste after Sept. 11, 2001. Many members of Congress admit that they did not read or study the bill before voting on it. The result was an unbalanced law that took away vital American civil liberties.

On a practical level, it has affected Arabs or people who just look like Arabs most. As home to one of the largest Arab populations in the country, Paterson's decision to condemn portions of this law affirms the rights of a vital component of the city.

In the weeks after Sept. 11, Arabs began disappearing from U.S. communities across the country. Law enforcement officials were rounding up Arabs as potential terrorists. Estimates put the number at more than 1,200 people held in detention. But there is no hard data because the Bush administration has kept the detentions secret and the detention hearings have been closed to the public and media. However, the dangers of the Patriot Act transcend an anti-Arab bias.

The American public accepted these detentions as a necessary precaution after the devastating attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Given the need to do something constructive after the attacks, it is hard to second-guess lawmakers almost three years later. But bad laws can be fixed - they must be fixed.

The City Council objects to the portions of the Patriot Act that enables the government to detain citizens and immigrants indefinitely, without open public hearings. The council also objects to the "sneak and peak" provisions that allow law enforcement to conduct searches without the subject of the search's knowledge.

Not only homes and business are affected. The Internet and libraries are not immune. There have been allegations that federal agents seized computers from the Paterson Public Library after Sept. 11. Yet, the allegations cannot be confirmed because library employees would be subject to prosecution if they confirmed the seizure. This is not life in a democracy.

No one wants to see terrorists succeed as they did on Sept. 11. Law enforcement agencies need the necessary tools to conduct investigations.

But those tools cannot destroy America's system of a free and open government.

Today, the targets are Arabs in the United States. It could be another ethic group next month.

Changing the laws that govern our society impacts every citizen and every person who chooses to immigrate to the United States.

It is ironic that while the City Council objects to the indefinite detention of non-citizens, the Passaic County Jail makes a handy profit by housing these detainees. The jail sits just blocks from City Hall, in the heart of Paterson.

Congress must reassess the Patriot Act. It has a responsibility to remove sections that have stepped on the civil liberties of Americans and non-citizens. So far, 311 cities, towns and state legislatures across the nation have passed resolutions criticizing the Patriot Act. The New Jersey Legislature is not one of them.

The Paterson City Council has acted. It is time that legislators in Trenton follow its lead.

Anti-Patriot Act launching pad?
Tuesday, June 8, 2004

By EMAN VAROQUA

Bergen Record
STAFF WRITER

Local Arab-American leaders say Paterson's stand on the rights of immigrants could spark a statewide movement.

The City Council will consider a resolution this week that challenges parts of the federal Patriot Act and calls for a revision of those sections that some say stifle civil liberties. The act, passed shortly after 9/11, authorized more phone wiretaps, expanded government search powers, and enhanced other surveillance techniques.

"This is a grass-roots effort that is really working to propel national legislation," said Aref Assaf, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's New Jersey chapter. "But first we'd like large cities to adopt it and push a New Jersey resolution."

Assaf's group has met with Paterson officials since March and worked with them to draft the resolution.

Paterson is one of the state's largest and most diverse cities, and because of that, officials say, its symbolic stance could mobilize others.

The Passaic County Jail in Paterson also houses several people detained under the Patriot Act.

So far, eight other municipalities in the state have adopted similar resolutions, including Princeton and Montclair.

Assaf estimates about 100 members of the Arab-American community will attend Wednesday night's council meeting, as well as members from other civil liberties organizations.

However, there may be one lone voice on the council in opposition to the resolution.

Councilman Thomas Rooney of the Sixth Ward - which the Arab enclave of 20,000 calls home - said he wants to hear from law enforcement officials before he makes his decision.

"I like to hear both sides of a story," Rooney said. "I don't want our freedoms taken away, but I want to hear from people that carry these obligations out about how this would affect them and their jobs."

President Bush has defended the Patriot Act, which is up for renewal in 2005, saying it has given law enforcement officials the tools they need to combat terrorists.

A spokeswoman for the FBI would not comment on how a resolution would affect agents, saying only that the FBI benefited from the Patriot Act.

"The FBI no longer has legal obstacles when it comes to coordination and information-sharing between the law enforcement community and also intelligence agencies," said Megan Baroska, in the Washington, D.C., office. "It allows the FBI to share information between criminal and intelligence cases. Before the Patriot Act there was a distinction between criminal and intelligence."

The section of the act that receives the most heat is referred to as "sneak-and-peek" searches, where a search warrant is issued to law enforcement agents, but the person is not made aware that his home or property has been searched and materials or documents seized. Another provision calls for hidden monitoring of library and Internet use.

"Imagine someone is in your home looking through your things and you have no idea," Assaf said. "We're not fighting just for Arab-Americans, but for all because this law doesn't single out one group - it's for all Americans."

But this movement is not exclusive to New Jersey. More than 325 councils and municipalities in the nation have adopted similar efforts, and four states - Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, and Vermont - have approved resolutions.

"Nothing like this [movement] has ever been done," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "It's a very powerful thing when smaller governments tell larger governments, 'Not in our town, not in our state, not in our country. We believe this violates the Constitution.'

And today, Sen. Jon S. Corzine will help propose a plan in Washington that calls for a similar resolution on the federal level. Both Corzine, and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. have said they voted for the act but now have reservations about infringement on civil rights.

West Paterson and Prospect Park are also working on similar resolutions with Assaf's group.

"The message has to get out [that] our civil liberties are basic," said Saleheddin Mustafa, a resident of Clifton and active community member. "We refuse to allow them to be eroded."