This footage is from the protest in front of the INS building that took place from noon to 1pm at 444 Washington Street in San Francisco on June 13, 2003.

Speaker: Matthew Van Saun
Organization: Amnesty International

Matthew Van Saun in San Francisco (Small - 16 MB)
Audio - Matthew Van Saun in San Francisco (MP3 - 5 MB)

Matthew Van Saun, Amnesty International

(Excerpt) Amnesty International USA does not take issue with the government enforcing immigration laws if immigrants are found to have violated such laws. We are concerned that the health and safety of some of these foreign nationals may be at risk if they are deported back to some countries where they fear persecution...

A report by the Justice Department was released on June 3. It was deeply critical of the government's roundup of immigrants after September 11, 2001. Senior Officials were found to have repeatedly ignored calls from immigration officials to quickly distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. There was evidence of abuse and harsh treatment of the detainees by officials. Moreover, many of these immigrants are now facing deportation to countries where they may face persecution.

Of the persons designated for deportation through the Special Registration program, many may have well-founded fears of persecution, but may have missed the one year deadline to file an asylum claim. It's an arbitrary deadline to which Amnesty is opposed.

According to U.S. and International Law, anyone claiming a fear of persecution upon return to his or her home country has a right to full and fair consideration of those claims. In closing, Amnesty International U.S.A. asks the U.S. Government to abide by U.S. and International Law and to guarantee the human rights of those facing deportation by ensuring that anyone claiming a fear of persecution, torture, or other ill treatment be given a full and fair hearing on their claims. Thank you.

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