INS Order Prompts Big Lines, Anger

A new federal law requiring the registration and fingerprinting of temporary U.S. male residents who are from many Mideastern countries sparked confusion and anger Monday, as thousands lined up to report to immigration offices in Southern California.

“It’s like the roundup of the Japanese during World War II,” said Adel Hajrasilihd, whose brother was registering along with hundreds of others at the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Anaheim.

“Terrorists don’t report themselves,” Hajrasilihd said. “It’s people who are honest who are here, and they are not being treated well.”

INS spokeswoman Virginia Kice said that the agency was responding to a public desire for integrity in the nation’s immigration system after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We have been charged with putting into place a comprehensive entry and exit system,” Kice said. “This is the first step and it will eventually apply to everyone.”

Confusion over the new orders in particular roiled the Armenian American population, which is heavily concentrated in Southern California.

The confusion began when the Justice Department published a notice in the Federal Register that added Armenia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to the list of 18 nations whose nationals are required to register.

With the exception of North Korea, the 18 nations are heavily Muslim countries from North Africa and the Middle East. Armenia, once part of the former Soviet Union, is predominantly Christian.

The listing provoked an explosion of protest from Armenian organizations here, who said members of their communities had no links to terrorism.

Late Monday, federal officials announced that Armenians were not being subjected to the new requirement after all.

Asked if the notice had been published in the Federal Register by error, Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said: “I can’t say it was a mistake. I can only tell you there are only two countries being added” -- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Spokesmen for the Saudi and Pakistani embassies did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment.

The governments of both nations are considered U.S. allies, and adding the countries to the list is certain to strain relations.

However, many of the Sept. 11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan has been accused of nurturing extremists in hard-line Islamic religious schools.

The federal order requires males age 16 and older from designated nations to register with the INS by specific deadlines. For Saudi Arabians and Pakistanis who arrived in the United States before Sept. 30, the deadline is Feb. 21 of next year. The requirement covers visitors, students and anyone who is not a permanent legal resident. Those who do not comply could be subject to deportation.

Several Arab and Muslim organizations criticized the registration program for failing to adequately inform people of the new requirements -- yet punishing those who fail to comply with deportation.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, said his staff had made spot checks with several INS offices across the nation and found that few were getting the word out about the requirements.

INS officials in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reported that they had reached the Arab community by contacting the local “Indo-American Business Assn.” and assumed Indians were Arabs because “their women are covered,” Zogby said.

Zogby said, however, that the Los Angeles office was one of the few found to be engaging in effective community outreach -- sending an official to appear on Farsi-language television, for instance, to alert the Iranian community about the requirements.

Nonetheless, some radio and television stations were besieged with irate callers, many of whom were trying to get information.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked immigration officials to extend the registration deadline to give people more time to learn about the new requirements and comply with them.

The council estimated that about 10,000 individuals would be affected, although immigration officials put the number at about 7,500.

At the INS offices in Anaheim, hundreds of men milled around, nervously pacing and debating whether to register. Failing to register could mean immediate deportation. But registering could also lead to a deportation proceeding.

Some of those who sought to register -- INS officials declined to say how many -- were taken into custody, including several who said they were establishing legal residency.

A man who would only identify himself as Faramarz said he had been in the United States waiting for residency after a work permit expired.

His case has been delayed, he said, because the INS lost his file and he has continued to run a Los Angeles flooring business.

“I’m so scared,” he said as he smoked his last cigarette before heading into the INS building, where he said he expected to be taken into custody. “I have employees, a wife and two children. What can I tell them?”

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Times staff writers Kenneth Reich in Los Angeles and Ricardo Alonzo-Zaldivar in Washington contributed to this report.