Supreme Court ACCEPTS Petition
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari ACCEPTED by the Supreme Court
The Federal Government and various organizations – including JINSA – filed a petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision in the case of Janet Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case in the fall with a decision expected in June 1999.
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari ACCEPTED by the Supreme Court
The Federal Government and various organizations – including JINSA – filed a petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision in the case of Janet Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the case in the fall with a decision expected in June 1999. The Court indicated that its review would focus primarily on whether the lower courts had jurisdiction over the issue.
Background to the Case
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is on the State Department’s list of “foreign terrorist organizations.” Among its infamous acts are the killing of 16 Americans at Israel’s Lod Airport, numerous airplane hijackings, and the 1976 assassination of the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon. Since 1987, the U.S. government has been fruitlessly attempting to deport eight PFLP members – four illegal aliens and four legal residents – based on their resident status and their activities in raising money for a terrorist organization. The eight have sued the Federal Government for infringing on their First Amendment right to fund raise for the organization of their choice. The government’s efforts to deport these aliens have been impeded by California’s Ninth Circuit Court ruling that:
1. The First Amendment prohibits the government from deporting someone because he exercises his right to join a group – as long as the group serves some purpose other than the perpetuation of terrorism. (They claim the PFLP has social and educational programs as well.)
2. Under the Fifth Amendment, the government is prohibited from treating PFLP members more harshly than members of other terror organizations. (The government has not yet deported members of other terrorist groups.)
Both of these rulings were made despite the fact that six of the eight aliens were found to be in the United States illegally because their visas had expired. The court’s rationale was that because the government does not move to deport all aliens whose visas have expired, it cannot “selectively” do so with these aliens because they had exercised their First Amendment right to associate with the PLFP.
JINSA joined the petition to the Supreme Court because we believe these rulings come under the heading of “Judicial Intrusion.” They undermine the ability of the Executive Branch and Congress to control the status of aliens in this country, and the ability of the Executive Branch to conduct foreign affairs. Even if the First Amendment is broad enough to protect citizens and/or aliens from criminal prosecution for engaging in fund raising for a terrorist organization, it need not serve as a bar to deportation, which is a civil proceeding.
The High Court’s statement that it will focus on the jurisdictional issue means that it may decide to dismiss the aliens’ claims without ruling on the merits of those claims. If the Court decides the Ninth Circuit Court did not have jurisdiction, then the case will be returned to the Immigration authorities to continue the deportation proceedings. At the conclusion of those proceedings, if the aliens are ordered deported and wish to challenge that order, they might then apply to the Federal courts for relief.
The PLFP is a terror organization whose members should not be granted sanctuary in the United States, and our courts should not shield people who raise money here to support our enemies. The Federal Government has a strong interest in protecting America’s national welfare by doing all it can to deny funding to the PFLP. JINSA hopes the Supreme Court will reject the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision, and thereby make it easier to deprive our enemies of financial resources.