ACLU sues agents over Iraqi refugee's arrest - Arrested because he's Iraqi

The American Civil Liberties Union sued two federal agents yesterday, saying that they illegally arrested and imprisoned an Iraqi refugee living in Kent. Abdul Ameer Yousef Habeeb was traveling by train in April 2003 to a new job in Washington, D.C. When he got off to stretch his legs during a brief station stop in Havre, Mont., Habeeb was "singled out" by two Border Patrol agents, according to attorney Jesse Wing, an ACLU board member who is representing Habeeb. The agents asked if he had gone through a special registration program requiring certain non-citizens to be fingerprinted and photographed. Although Habeeb was not required to undergo special registration because of having asylum status, the agents arrested him. Habeeb spent a week in immigration detention, lost his new job and thought he might be deported. The ACLU suit is seeking monetary damages and an injunction preventing such actions in the future by Homeland Security Department officials. [more]