The American Civil Liberties Union has offered legal assistance to the nearly 200 foreign visitors in Oregon who will be interviewed about their knowledge of terrorism. The group said 20 lawyers statewide will provide free legal counsel to the foreign visitors for interviews with members of the Justice Department’s anti-terrorism task force.
The announcement comes one day after Eugene Police Chief James Hill announced that EPD will offer logistics support to the investigation but will not participate in the interviews.
Members of the ACLU called the investigation a “dragnet” and said its secretive nature made the right to counsel very important.
“Open-ended questioning of people is threatening and intimidating,” said Polly Nelson, education director for the ACLU of Oregon. “It is not going to help end our efforts to stop terrorism.”
Since the Justice Department instructed the U.S. Attorney’s office to coordinate the anti-terror campaign with local law enforcement agencies, many civil liberties groups, as well as some law enforcement agencies, have questioned the legality of the investigation. In Oregon, the Portland and Corvallis police departments announced they will not cooperate with the investigation because of legal issues surrounding the questions investigators will be asking. The Salem Police Department, like the EPD, will offer only logistic assistance to the investigation and will not participate in any interviews.
University officials have also pledged support to University students and faculty who may be contacted for an interview. Anne Leavitt, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said the Office of International Programs distributed an e-mail that warns international students they may be contacted for an interview. She said the e-mail advises students that the University can assist interviewees with locating an ACLU lawyer, help students juggle their schedule if the interview takes place over finals or find a faculty member to offer advice.
However, the University cannot offer legal advice or represent the students at the interview, she said.
“We don’t know which students could be interviewed, but we are here to support them,” she said.
Leavitt also said the Justice Department’s criteria for creating the list, which is largely unknown, makes it more difficult to know which students, if any, could be interviewed. She has heard the criteria will include men, ages 18 to 33, who have been in the country since Jan. 1, 2000, and originate from a country where Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network is suspected to have members.
EPD officials said Hill’s decision came after consulting members of the Arab-American and Islamic communities, the ACLU, the Human Rights Commission and officials from the University. While making the decision, Hill weighed joining a high-profile investigation with severing carefully built ties with a local community.
“We could do nothing and not control any part of the process, or we could offer assistance and work as a resource,” said EPD spokeswoman Pam Alejandre.
Community editor John Liebhardt can be reached at [email protected].