ACLU seeks documents in denials of visas to foreign scholars

The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Bush administration on Wednesday to turn over documents detailing the use of immigration laws to bar foreign scholars from the United States because of their purported support of terrorism or on other ideological grounds. Citing three prominent cases in the past year, the ACLU said the administration appears to be denying visas to Muslim and Hispanic academics because it disagrees with their political views. The civil liberties group filed a Freedom of Information Act request with several federal agencies seeking records about the decisions to keep the scholars out of the country. The ACLU asked whether the visa denials were based on a provision of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act allowing the government to refuse visas to people who use their "position of prominence to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or to persuade others to support terrorist activity." State Department officials declined to comment, consistent with the department's policy on not discussing visa applications. A CIA spokesperson said the agency responds to all freedom of information requests. [more]