1995年国会听证会
情报和安全

阿拉伯裔美国人EHALIL E. JAHSHAN，全国协会阿拉伯裔美国人（NAAA）执行主任发言协会，前众议院司法委员会1995年6月13日阿拉伯裔美国人全国协会（NAAA）在此之前，高兴地见证反恐立法的主题杰出的面板。由于阿拉伯裔美国人社区的主要游说组织，我们欢迎在国会努力加强美国执法机关的反恐能力。像所有的美国人，我们要确保恐怖主义行为可以预防和，一旦发生这种行为，行凶者 - 无论他们的身份 - 可以逮捕和严惩。强大而有效的立法，但是，必须保证国家的合法和十分迫切的安全需求，并在其上我们的民主制度所依据的宪法保护的自由之间的公平平衡。NAAA，其成员遍布美国参加全国其他地区在对死者的哀悼和慰问在俄克拉荷马城的悲剧轰炸的幸存者4月19日，1995年NAAA是第一个阿拉伯裔美国人组织之间谴责这野蛮行径和表达造成恐怖和厌恶的无辜生命的肆意破坏。我们相信，在俄克拉何马攻击的肇事者和策划者将被绳之以法。与此同时，主席先生，阿拉伯美国人极为关注的媒体和许多所谓的专家的倾向就恐怖主义在俄克拉何马城爆炸事件的肇事者的身份过早推测。早期的报告，ReportsReports这次袭击可能已被链接到事件德克萨斯州韦科，两年之前让位给了无休止的猜测肇事者的起源是“中东”。 No apologies were proffered when the speculation proved erroneous. The public was not served by these race-and-religion-based innuendoes. By reinforcing stereotypes and implying collective guilt, the rumors induced a backlash against the Arab and Muslim communities and caused considerable anguish and pain for many Americans of Arab descent. It is precisely this tendency to blame ethnic groups rather than individuals for acts of terrorism that causes our community to oppose certain Statement of Khalil Jahshan June 13, 1995 Page 2 provisions regarding fund raising and deportation of aliens that are found in the Comprehensive Anti terrorism Act of 1995 (H.R. 1710), introduced by the distinguished chairman of this Committee, the Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act of 1995 (S. 735), introduced by the Senate Majority Leader, and the Administration-backed Omnibus Counter terrorism Act of 1995 (S. 761). We believe that certain provisions in each of these bills would tip the balance in such a way as to invite abuse. Let me make one thing perfectly clear. We hold the current director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Attorney General in the highest esteem. We were heartened that, in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, Administration and law enforcement officials, including President Clinton, declined to encourage media speculation as to the identity of the perpetrators. Nevertheless, the legislation that Congress is considering should be designed to be in force and effective long after the current officials are replaced. As has been seen in the past, the nation's top law enforcement officers have on occasion violated civil liberties and severe restrictions of their powers were imposed upon them as a result. We therefore urge this Committee to resist the temptation to rush to enact counter terrorism legislation without serious and thoughtful deliberation to avoid swinging the pendulum too far in the opposite direction. Mr. Chairman, we believe that American citizens or resident aliens in the United States who engage in or conspire to commit terrorist activities should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. We are concerned, however, that the legislation being considered in this Congress contains provisions which are designed not to prevent or punish terrorism but to criminalize activities which are not only protected but guaranteed by the Constitution. We believe that certain provisions in H.R. 1710, S. 735 and/or S. 761 should be opposed in their current form. Among these are provisions that would: . broaden the definition of terrorism to include constitutionally protected activities, including the right of association, which would otherwise be legal. � violate the Constitution by permitting the U.S. government to deport aliens without due process, based on secret evidence that is not disclosed to the defendant. � invite selective enforcement based on political considerations, such as opposition to the Middle East peace process, that targets certain ethnic or religious groups, including Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and Arab and Muslim immigrants. Statement of Khalil Jahshan June 13, 1995 Page 3 � permit the President to designate organizations as terrorist without review by the courts. . enable the President to bar fund raising for humanitarian and other lawful activities of organizations that may be politically affiliated with the organizations designated as terrorist. . allow foreign governments to carry out surveillance in the United States on U.S. citizens in some circumstances. Fundraising We believe that the fund raising provisions of much of the counter terrorism legislation under consideration by Congress, including H.R. 1710, are overly broad and violate the Constitution by prohibiting fund raising for lawful humanitarian and philanthropic activities. Current law already prohibits the providing of funds for terrorist activity and should be vigorously enforced. The broad prohibition under the pending legislation, however, penalizes individuals for providing funds, even unknowingly, to groups that the President deems to be terrorist. Although there are certain exemptions that may be granted, the requirements to obtain these exemptions are almost impossible to fulfill and are therefore illusory. Arab Americans, like members of all ethnic communities in the United States, send funds to their countries of origin. Many Arab Americans contribute to humanitarian and philanthropic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the West Bank and Gaza and in Lebanon. Most, if not all, of these NGOs are politically affiliated and are a function of political factions. Thus, groups like Fatah, Hamas, DFLP, and PFLP, some of which are designated as terrorist organizations in the President's executive order of January 24, 1995, engage in a host of educational, health, social and other humanitarian activities that are desperately needed in Palestinian society. Cutting off fund raising to the legitimate non-terrorist and non-violent activities of such groups will deprive Palestinian society of vital services that cannot easily be provided by the Palestine National Authority or any outside source at this time. Such an economic disruption will destabilize the region, undermine the already precarious peace process, and threaten the democratic institutions that are currently emerging in the West Bank and Gaza. We are also concerned that the broad prohibitions of the fund raising provisions will have a further chilling effect on humanitarian and philanthropic fund raising in the United States because of their vagueness. Individuals will be reluctant to contribute to any organization dealing with Statement of Khalil Jahshan June 13, 1995 Page 4 the Middle East because they cannot be sure that at some time they may face prosecution. Ironically, resident aliens could face prosecution for contributing to the Palestine Liberation Organization in support of the peace process, even though the U.S. government, including the President himself, has urged Arab Americans to support the Palestine National Authority in the reconstruction of Palestinian society. Because fund raising for terrorist activities is already proscribed under current law, we urge that the provisions that would ban fund raising for legitimate humanitarian and philanthropic activities be dropped from the legislation under consideration. Deportation of Aliens Certain provisions of the counter terrorism legislation seek to facilitate the deportation of aliens charged with terrorism activity. We are puzzled as to why the U.S. government would seek to deport, rather than to prosecute, any individual suspected of committing or conspiring to commit terrorism in the United States. Deportation of such individuals would merely allow them to conduct their activities elsewhere and could impede efforts to prevent or to punish terrorism. We believe that all individuals engaged in terrorism activity should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But, to ensure that innocent individuals are not wrongly prosecuted and convicted, the term "engage in terrorism activity" must be defined as referring only to those who specifically intend to support an individual, organization, or government in conducting terrorism activity. As we have noted, individuals who wish to support humanitarian or philanthropic activities should not be considered to be engaging in terrorism activities. The Arab-American community is particularly troubled by provisions which allow the government to deport aliens without due process, based on secret evidence that is not disclosed to the defendant or his or her attorney. While we understand that there are times when the U.S. government must decline to make public certain classified information in order to protect the source of that information, we believe that the government should and must be required to produce, as it is under the Classified Information Procedures Act, summaries that will allow the defendant the opportunity to defend him or herself. 17H.R. 1710 would establish a "special removal court" to preside over hearings to deport terrorist aliens from the United States and would create a panel of attorneys with security clearances who could review classified information relating to removal cases. A member of such a panel could represent the accused alien and challenge the veracity of the classified Statement of Khalil Jahshan June 13, 1995 Page 5 evidence in an in camera proceeding, but could not disclose the classified information either to the accused or to his or her attorney. Since summaries of classified evidence against the accused are not required to be made available to the alien, he or she can be effectively denied the ability to conduct an adequate and effective defense. We believe that current law already permits the Immigration and Naturalization Service to detain aliens charged as deport able. Provisions that would expedite immigration cases concerning terrorism activity would allow such cases to be disposed of in a timely fashion, even if there is a backlog in normal cases. But the U.S. government should not be relieved of its burden of providing due process to defendants simply because they are aliens. H.R. 1710 would also unduly broaden grounds for exclusion of aliens from the United States. Aliens are currently excludable if they have engaged in terrorism activity or if the Attorney General has reasonable grounds to believe that they are likely to engage in such activity in the United States should they gain entry. Under H.R. 1710, exclusion would be permitted if the alien is a representative or merely a member of an organization designated by the President to be terrorist, even if the alien had never engaged in or supported terrorism activity. Such broad exclusionary powers will serve to bar innocent aliens with legitimate reasons for entering the country. It will also tend to limit debate in the United States on controversial issues. Surveillance by Foreign Governments We were astonished to find provisions in S. 735 which would give personnel of a foreign government the right to participate in interceptions of communications in the United States. The Arab-American community is utterly and unalterably opposed to any foreign government being legally entitled to intercept communications of American citizens in the United States under any circumstances. It is a fundamental violation of the constitutional rights of every American to permit a foreign government, which is not bound by the requirements of the Bill of Rights of our Constitution, to conduct surveillance lawfully and legally in the United States against ethnic communities or individuals it despises. Mr. Chairman, we urge this Committee and the members of any conference committee that may be formed to consider counterterrorism legislation to reject provisions that would permit foreign governments to conduct surveillance in the United States. Lawful surveillance activities should conducted by the U.S. government and not by foreign governments. Statement of Khalil Jahshan June 13, 1995 Page 6 Conclusion Arab Americans join all Americans who want to ensure that acts of terrorism can be prevented and, when such acts do occur, that the perpetrators are punished. Because the Arab-American community is often targeted or "scapegoat Ed" at times of international crisis or terrorist incidents, however, Arab Americans have a special interest in ensuring that counterterrorism legislation provides an equitable balance between the nation's legitimate security needs and constitutionally protected freedoms. As a community with a large proportion of immigrants, we are concerned about the artificial distinctions that are being drawn between domestic and international terrorism. We note in particular that many of the provisions of proposed counterterrorism legislation seem designed to restrict or deny due process to aliens, to facilitate deportation, and to broaden the definition of terrorism activity to such a point that it infringes upon constitutionally protected rights of association, particularly for foreigners. It is essential that, in our eagerness to ensure that terrorism can be prevented or punished, we preserve the fights not only of U.S. citizens, but also of resident aliens who contribute much to this society and obey its laws. We have the responsibility to ensure not only that the guilty are prosecuted and punished but that the innocent are protected, whether they be citizens or aliens.