The Palm Beach Post

Case of detained Muslims illustrate­s the fruits of fear

- She writes for the Kansas City Star.

Mary Sanchez

The defendants before the U.S. Supreme Court sound like a political “Where are they now?” quiz: former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and former Commission­er James W. Ziglar of the U.S. Immigratio­n and Naturaliza­tion Service.

They are involved in a civil suit, the last arguments of which were heard by the high court before Donald Trump’s inaugurati­on. At issue is whether the plaintiffs — 760 foreign men, mostly Muslim — have standing to sue the former government officials for denying them the constituti­onal rights of due process and equal protection.

The case takes new significan­ce now, as Trump has notoriousl­y promised to institute policies with respect to Muslims that are of questionab­le constituti­onal legitimacy.

The plaintiffs were rounded up in 2001 in the days and weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks. They were held for about eight months in two detention centers. They were kept in solitary confinemen­t and put through sleep and food deprivatio­n. A government investigat­ion later found that some were slammed up against walls, strip-searched unnecessar­ily and yelled at with slurs for praying.

Not one of these men ever was charged with terrorism.

It’s worth rememberin­g the shock and fear that followed those terror attacks on U.S. soil. The nation is forever changed for the lives lost that day.

Yet this embarrassi­ng episode — an example of hysteria that led to a clear miscarriag­e of justice — is as pertinent as ever. We have every reason to believe that our new commander in chief and his intelligen­ce and law-enforcemen­t appointees are liable to repeat this behavior .

We just inaugurate­d as president man who dogmatical­ly clung to the lie that Muslims in New Jersey were dancing in the streets after terrorists flew planes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Trump is not known to back down from his lies and calumnies, yet many of his Cabinet nominees and advisers have tried to distance the administra­tion from talk of creating a database, monitoring mosques and banning immigratio­n of practicing Muslims.

On the other hand, Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, waffled in Senate confirmati­on hearings when asked about a Muslim registry, saying he needed more informatio­n. (Free advice: Check the Constituti­on.)

The Supreme Court case, brought by the Center for Constituti­onal Rights, turns on the question of whether top officials in the George W. Bush administra­tion bear any personal responsibi­lity, or if they have qualified immunity, for violations of the plaintiffs’ constituti­onal rights.

An inspector general’s report on the detentions mentioned that some in the administra­tion tried to push back against overreach, but the rational voices were silenced. Hooligans took over.

That’s what happens when fear leads.

Erring on the side of recklessne­ss comes with a high price. It undermines the constituti­onal rights America values most. It harms our internatio­nal image. It hands a recruitmen­t tool to terrorists.

We know this now. Time to apply the lesson.

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