Boston - The Deportation Hearing for Amer Jubran, a well-known leader in the growing U.S. movement to save the Palestinian people from Israeli occupation and oppression, took place yesterday at the INS in Boston. Activists from up and down the East Coast held a rally outside the JFK building in Boston and about 50 crowded the small courtroom and hallways outside the hearing. The INS and FBI presented their case to Judge Shapiro in an all-day hearing for Amer's deportation. Amer's attorney, Nelson Brill, an immigration lawyer for over 20 years, defended Amer's constitutional rights and briefed us on the proceedings, following the hearing.
Mr. Brill stated that the government presented no material evidence; nor did they present any witnesses of their own. Attorney Brill had several witnesses prepared to testify, including Amer's former wife and her sister. However, during the week preceding the hearing, the FBI entered the homes of these two women without warrants and took them to a location of their choosing to interrogate them. They detained them for up to 9 hours, harrassed and questioned them about their planned testimony. This, Mr. Brill stated, amounted to tampering with the defense witnesses. The sister of Amer's former wife was so frightened by the FBI, that she withdrew as a witness on the day prior to the hearing. However, Amer's former wife courageously and unwaveringly presented solid testimony to Judge Shapiro about the nature of her marriage to Amer. She testified that they had a genuine, domestic marriage that included several years of living together as a married couple, joint residential leases, joint financial arrangements and joint income tax filings. The government cross examined her for over 3 hours and requests by Attorney Brill for a recess during that period were denied by the judge. During the testimony, the judge allowed testimony about the FBI's interrogation and harrassment of defense witnesses. Amer's former wife and her sister were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens.
At the end of the day, the judge continued the proceedings to a date in the future. Attorney Brill requested an early date to bring the whole matter to an end. Judge Shapiro said that he would be gone for the month of August and the prosecutor indicated that he too, would be on vacation. However, Judge Shapiro told Attorney Brill that he would try to schedule a new date as soon as possible. The hearing could be held over for as late as September, 2004. Attorney Brill and Amer pointed out that Amer would not be permitted to leave the country until the matter is resolved; otherwise, he would lose his right to contest this attempt by the government to deport him. At the press conference that followed, one of the reporters asked Amer what affect this is having on his job. Amer replied that his job "is not a charity" and that while the employer has been extremely understanding and patient with all the time he has had to devote to his defense, he fears that his work may be negatively affected. Attorney Brill noted that at the end of the hearing, the government indicated they may present "a surprise witness" at the next appearance, specifically an "Agent Cooper" who interrogated the sister of Amer's former wife. He said that if they present "the mysterious Agent Cooper", he expects that he will deny harrassing her when he took her from her home in South Carolina last week. Attorney Brill said the harrassment included frightening her and Amer's former wife by telling them that Amer is a suspect in the 9/11/01 attacks on the WTC and Pentagon. Attorney Brill expects that Agent Cooper will deny making such an outrageous accusation if he appears in the second day of the hearing. At the news conference, Attorney Brill was asked if rules of discovery (legal rules that require the opposition to disclose the names of their witnesses and planned testimony in advance) apply in this case. He replied that incredibly, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1800s that deportation and banishment of an individual is less punishing than imprisonment so rules that normally apply in a criminal proceeding do not apply here. Therefore, he cannot obtain by deposition the planned testimony of the government in advance of the hearing. This means that he cannot prepare in advance for whatever testimony the government plans to present. This stands in contrast with the government's witness-tampering activities evidenced in the FBI's harrassment, interrogation and threats to defense witnesses.
There were reporters inside the courtroom and there was a press conference following the proceedings. The only reference in the Boston Globe to this important civil rights case today was the following paragraph:
"Protesters support Palestinian activistWhile about 50 protesters chanted ''Free Palestine!'' outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building yesterday, the former wife of a well-known Palestinian activist testified at a deportation hearing that her marriage to Amer Jubran was not a sham engineered to get him citizenship. The hearing, which was continued, could result in Jubran's expulsion from the United States. Jubran was arrested last November by the FBI and immigration authorities who said Jubran lied about the date of his marriage on his green card application. Jubran and his supporters contend he has been targeted because of his pro-Palestinian activism."
Finally, Attorney Brill stated that there is no question that this attempt to deport Amer Jubran is politically motivated. He pointed out that in his many years as an immigration attorney, the government has never place such emphasis or invested so many resources in a case that challenged the legitimacy of an immigrant's marriage. The pre-hearing interrogations of defense witnesses in Rhode Island and South Carolina, the threat to bring an FBI agent to Boston from South Carolina for testimony and the government's aggressive campaign to deport Amer Jubran are investments of resources singularly to deport an important activist for exercising his rights to free speech. Because Amer Jubran has been so effective in making known the plight of his people in Palestine, the government is determined to silence him by deporting him from this country. Attorney Brill ended the news conference by stating, "I hope this is allright for me to say that, as a Jew, I am and continue to be convinced that Amer is a man of integrity and I consider him to be my brother and will continue to stand by him". Attorney Brill called the government's actions against Amer "outrageous" and actions against us all.
As a personal friend of Amer Jubran, I have entertained him in my home on a number of occasions and can say he is one of the most intelligent, articulate, compassionate and sensitive human beings I have ever known. He has courageously fought not only for the Palestinian people, but also for the rights of us all as U.S. citizens.
Please consider helping Amer by calling and writing to the Attorney General of the United States Government and the prosecuting attorney's office as requested by the New England Committee to Defend Palestine and the Amer Jubran Defense Committee.