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Ashcroft and INS have no regard for individual rights San Jose Mercury News Immigration and Naturalization Service has no business throwing men like San Jose resident Faramarz Farahani in jail for five days, treating him worse than it would a convicted felon. Felons at least get due process and a cot to sleep on. Farahani had neither. An Iranian-born systems analyst, Farahani, 42, is a Canadian citizen and the father of two. He is one of about 400 men - the INS won't say exactly how many - detained in California the week before Christmas under a bizarrely enforced post-Sept. 11 immigration regulation. Farahani and others made the mistake of trying to comply with the rule. Other men from Mideast countries could be subjected to similar abuse, unless the INS changes its approach. Farahani is one of thousands of males 16 and over born in five countries - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Sudan - who were required to register with the INS by Dec. 16. All hold temporary visas, which permit study, vacation or work for specified times. The basis for the rule, keeping track of individuals from nations suspected of sheltering or backing terrorists, was sound. But the INS didn't anticipate the last-minute rush in registration. In what has become typical under Attorney General John Ashcroft's oversight, the agency executed the policy without regard for individual circumstances or collective rights. Many of those detained apparently had minor visa violations or had overstayed their visas. Others had already applied for green cards as permanent residents, a process often delayed by INS bungling. Farahani and others from Canada with high-tech work visas committed the sin of registering two days late. The majority of those jailed apparently were Iranians living in Southern California. Farahani and 20 or so others were immediately handcuffed and hauled off after registering at INS offices in San Jose and San Francisco. What happened next, say their lawyers, was a harrowing journey in a blur: a cross-country trip in search of empty cells in three states before being dispatched to a crowded detention center in San Diego. Released on his own recognizance on Christmas Eve, Farahani faces a hearing to decide if he'll be deported. Individuals like Farahani, who voluntarily submit to fingerprinting, make unlikely terrorists. Humiliating them doesn't make the nation safer. Intimidating them doesn't encourage their cooperation. ... Guest Forum Revisit police tactics, rights of the homeless By Patti Morey Ashland Ashland resident Kirk Tierney helped with the Community Dinner at Ashland Christian Fellowship on Christmas Day. Evidently, while Kirk was cheerfully assisting the community a notice was posted on his tabernacle. I think it is a dishonor to the spirit of Christmas to trouble those without homes and especially ironic too, knowing full well that Jesus' family was homeless on that holy day. Moreover, no Christian could think to label them "transients." The Tidings long ago ceased printing home addresses in its Public Safety column. Thus, it is unjust to identify the home - addresslessness of our city's less fortunate residents. Or, how are we to interpret the word, "transient" when applied to an Ashland resident who lives in a tent? I'm thankful for the Dec. 27 Tidings article by reporter Sean Wolfe; for the headline, "Transient Arrested in Railroad Area," that made this news; and for the accompanying photo that showed caring citizens, Mike Davis and Chris Dakiades on their knees, respectfully and honorably taking down Kirk Tierney's tent. The Miranda Rights affirm our right to remain silent: How is it possible that exercising this right could legally be construed as "noncompliance" to justify police in arresting anyone? All Ashland' citizens ought to be dismayed by the ridiculous waste of city policing and taxpayers' dollars in sending five squad cars to arrest a man for sleeping in a tent and lodging him instead at our expense in the county jail. He should have an attorney now with tax dollars, too. Why? He never hurt anybody. We need to see a tally of public monies spent through police hours, incarceration, legal fees and property storage and disposal in oppression of our city's homeless each year. (When found, property is confiscated and usually unclaimed to avoid citation.) This issue bears close examination. Moreover, it is sorrowful to know that there are Americans who live in fear of the police just because they don't have a home. It is wrong. Religion and morality notwithstanding, I believe it'd be much more fiscally responsible to drop the punitive approach toward homelessness and enact laws that are more American and socially inclusive (for example: camping privileges in exchange for public service). Keeping in mind always the American ideal of liberty, and enabling rather than curtailing American liberty wherever possible. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -