Opinion: Deport him or let him out

Tuesday will mark six months since former University of South Florida teacher Mazen Al-Najjar was imprisoned pending his deportation. It is time for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deport him or let him out of prison. As the U.S. Supreme Court recognized last year, indefinite detention of stateless illegal aliens is not an acceptable option under the Constitution.

The INS has tried unsuccessfully for the past six months to find a country to take Al-Najjar, the Palestinian father of three American citizen daughters, who overstayed a student visa. Now, under the rules set down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Zadvydas vs. Davis case, Al-Najjar should be freed from detention unless the government can show that he is a danger.

The Justice Department hasn't been able to show that in the past. Previously, Al-Najjar was imprisoned for more than three years in a Bradenton jail due to a government claim that it had secret evidence of his ties to the terrorist group Palestine Islamic Jihad -- a claim Al-Najjar vehemently denies. In May 2000, a federal judge ruled that the government must provide Al-Najjar with enough information on the secret evidence to allow him to mount a defense. He was released after an immigration judge found the government's public case essentially groundless.

Then, last November, following a final order of deportation by a federal appeals court, Al-Najjar was rearrested and placed in the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County. He has been there, held mostly in solitary confinement for six months, while the government tried to find a country to take him. If that hasn't happened by Tuesday, he should be released. If the government refuses, Al-Najjar's attorneys will rightly ask the courts to intervene.

Of course, even after being released Al-Najjar could still be deported at any time. He is in this country illegally and should be removed. The trick is finding a place for him -- a problem it seems beyond the capabilities of our government to solve.

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright