2001–2002
Post-September 11 immigration detention raises civil rights abuses
United States; immigrant detainees investigated after September 11
After September 11, federal authorities detained immigrants during the terrorism investigation. The Justice Department inspector general later examined 762 people held on immigration charges, documenting prolonged confinement and problems with treatment and access to counsel. Zinn places the detentions in a wider climate of suspicion directed at Arab and Muslim people.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
Immigration charges were civil proceedings; absence of criminal terrorism charges does not mean there were no charges at all. The inspector general’s review had a defined detainee population and did not cover every arrest, material-witness detention or immigration policy after the attacks.
Sources
- Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 25, pp. 680–681; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
- Justice Department OIG: September 11 detainees report, scope and methodology (2003) ↗
- Justice Department OIG: September 11 detainees report, conclusions (2003) ↗