When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security misdirects its authority, as it has done in the cases of Harbert resident Ibrahim Parlak and would-be South Bend resident Tariq Ramadan, the targets of the DHS’s action aren’t the only ones who pay a price. Resources wasted by such efforts cost us all — and thereby leave us all a little less safe from genuine threats.
The DHS has been trying (without justification, as we see it) to deport Parlak, a Kurdish immigrant from Turkey who was given U.S. asylum in 1992 and is seeking citizenship. The popular lakeshore restaurateur has been living in limbo for years, under the threat of being returned to Turkey because he misunderstood a question on his application for permanent residence.
Two years ago, highly regarded Muslim scholar and Swiss resident Tariq Ramadan had accepted a tenured professorship at the University of Notre Dame and was in the process of relocating his family to South Bend. They had shipped their belongings, found schools for the children and were nine days away from arriving themselves when, at the request of DHS, the State Department revoked Ramadan’s visa.
The Patriot Act was cited as the legal basis for the action. But no specific reason ever was given. And that, as it turns out, is why the visa will be restored — two years later.
As we said at the time, it is a good thing to have faith in one’s government, but blind faith isn’t such a good thing. The DHS needed to explain itself. Ramadan always had been controversial in some circles, but no explanation had been offered for why he was not fit to live in the United States and teach at Notre Dame.
For its part, Notre Dame had joined in demanding an explanation, pointing out that Ramadan had been misrepresented and libeled by his critics. Then-Notre Dame President Rev. Edward Malloy personally involved himself in trying to persuade the government to restore Ramadan’s visa.
A lawsuit on Ramadan’s behalf was filed by the American Association of University Professors, the American Academy of Religion and PEN American Center.
All made the same demand: Tell us why Ramadan is a threat to U.S. security.
A federal court order in June added its voice. The judge required that the government either issue a visa to Ramadan or provide a good reason for not doing so. The order will stand since the government has decided not to appeal it. That means the State Department has 30 days from last Tuesday to issue the visa.
Whether the Ramadan family will wind up in South Bend two years after this ordeal began hasn’t been determined. As one might imagine, time has introduced some complexities. For one, Ramadan is busy teaching at Oxford University in England and serving as an adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair on the roots of extremism in Britain. Apparently Scotland Yard doesn’t think he’s a security threat.
Source : SouthBend Tribune
