April 1, 2003 
Patriot Raid 
By Jason Halperin 

Two weeks ago I experienced a very small taste of what hundreds of
South Asian immigrants and US citizens of South Asian descent have
gone through since 9/11, and what thousands of others have come to
fear. I was held, against my will, under the Patriot Act. While I
understand the need for some measure of security and precaution in
times such as these, the manner in which this detention and
interrogation took place raises serious questions about police tactics
and the safeguarding of civil liberties in times of war.

That night, March 20th, my roommate Asher and I were on our way to see
the Broadway show Rent. We had an hour to spare before curtain time so
we stopped into an Indian restaurant just off of Times Square in the
heart of midtown. I have omitted the name of the restaurant so as not
to subject the owners to any further harassment or humiliation.

We helped ourselves to the buffet and then sat down to begin eating
our dinner. I was just about to tell Asher how I'd eaten there before
and how delicious the vegetable curry was, but I never got a
chance. All of a sudden, there was a terrible commotion and five NYPD
in bulletproof vests stormed down the stairs. They had their guns
drawn and were pointing them indiscriminately at the restaurant staff
and at us.

"Go to the back, Go to the back of the restaurant," they yelled. I
hesitated, lost in my own panic. "Did you not hear me, go to the back
and sit down," they demanded.

I complied and looked around at the other patrons. There were eight
men including the waiter, all of South Asian descent and ranging in
age from late-teens to senior citizen. One of the policemen pointed
his gun point blank in the face of the waiter and shouted: "Is there
anyone else in the restaurant?" The waiter, terrified, gestured to the
kitchen.

The police placed their fingers on the triggers of their guns and
kicked open the kitchen doors. Shouts emanated from the kitchen and a
few seconds later five Hispanic men were made to crawl out on their
hands and knees, guns pointed at them.

After patting us all down, the five officers seated us at two
tables. As they continued to kick open doors to closets and bathrooms
with their fingers glued to their triggers, no less than ten officers
in suits emerged from the stairwell. Most of them sat in the back of
the restaurant typing on their laptop computers. Two of them walked
over to our table and identified themselves as officers of the INS and
Homeland Security Department.

While having some limited knowledge of the rights afforded to US
citizens, I explained that we were just eating dinner and asked why we
were being held. We were told by the INS agent that we would be
released once they had confirmation that we had no outstanding
warrants and our immigration status was OKed.

In pre-9/11 America, the legality of this would have been
questionable. After all, the fourth amendment to the constitution
states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be
seized."

"You have no right to hold us," Asher insisted. "Yes, we have every
right. You are being held under the Patriot Act following suspicion
under an internal Homeland Security investigation."

The Patriot Act was passed into law on October 26, 2001 in order to
facilitate the post 9/11 crackdown on terrorism. Like most Americans,
I did not recognize the extent to which this bill foregoes our civil
liberties. Among the unprecedented rights it grants to the federal
government are the right to wiretap without warrant, and the right to
detain without warrant. As I quickly discovered, the right to an
attorney has been seemingly fudged as well.

When I asked to speak to a lawyer, the INS official informed me that I
do have the right to a lawyer but I would have to be brought down to
the station and await security clearance before being granted
one. When I asked how long that would take, he replied with a coy
smile: "Maybe a day, maybe a week, maybe a month."

We insisted that we had every right to leave and were going to do
so. One of the policemen walked over with his hand on his gun and
taunted: "Go ahead and leave, just go ahead."

We remained seated. Our IDs were taken, and brought to the officers
with laptops. I was questioned over the fact that my license was out
of state, and asked if I had "something to hide." The police continued
to hassle the kitchen workers, demanding licenses and dates of
birth. One of the kitchen workers was shaking hysterically and kept
providing the day's date?March 20, 2003, over and over.

As I continued to press for legal counsel, a female officer who had
been busy typing on her laptop in the front of the restaurant, walked
over and put her finger in my face. "We are at war, we are at war and
this is for your safety," she exclaimed. As she walked away from the
table, she continued to repeat it to herself: "We are at war, we are
at war? How can they not understand this?"

 I most certainly understand that we are at war. I also understand that
the freedoms afforded to all of us in the constitution were meant
specifically for times like these. Our freedoms were carved out during
times of strife by people who were facing brutal injustices, and were
intended specifically so that this nation would behave differently in
such times. If our freedoms crumble exactly when they are needed most,
then they were really never freedoms at all.

After an hour and a half the INS agent walked back over and handed
Asher and I our licenses. A policeman took us by the arm and escorted
us out of the building. Before stepping out to the street, the INS
agent apologized. He explained, in a low voice, that they did not
think the two of us were in the restaurant.

Several of the other patrons, though of South Asian descent, were in
fact US citizens. There were four taxi drivers, two students, one
newspaper salesman unwitting customers, just like Asher and me. I
doubt though they received any apologies from the INS or the
Department of Homeland Security. Nor have the over 600 people of South
Asian descent currently being held without charge by the Federal
Government. Apparently, this type of treatment is acceptable.

One of the taxi drivers, a US citizen, spoke to me during the
interrogation. "Please stop talking to them." He urged. "I have been
through this before. Please do whatever they say. Please for our
sake." Three days later I phoned the restaurant to discover what
happened. The owner was nervous and embarrassed and obviously did not
want to talk about it. But I managed to ascertain that the whole thing
had been one giant mistake. A mistake. Loaded guns pointed in faces,
people made to crawl on their hands and knees, police officers clearly
exacerbating a tense situation by kicking in doors, taunting, keeping
their fingers on the trigger even after the situation was under
control. A mistake. And, according to the ACLU a perfectly legal one,
thanks to the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is the just the first phase
of the erosion of the Fourth Amendment. On the congressional table
this summer is the Domestic Securities Enhancement Act, also known as
Patriot II. (Is it a missile or a piece of legislation?) Among other
things, this act would allow the Justice Department to detain anyone,
anytime, secretly and indefinitely. It would also make it a crime to
reveal the identity or even existence of such a detainee.

Every American citizen, whether they support the current war or not,
should be alarmed by the speed and facility with which these changes
to our fundamental rights are taking place. And all of those who
thought that these laws would never affect them, who thought that the
Patriot Act only applied to the guilty should heed this story as a
wake up call. Please learn from my experience. We are all vulnerable
so speak out and organize, our fourth amendment rights depend upon it.