September 11 Digital Archive

Caravan of the brokenhearted: another 100 Pakistanis board a charter flight and are deported

Title

Caravan of the brokenhearted: another 100 Pakistanis board a charter flight and are deported

Source

born-digital

Media Type

article

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-11-27

VTMBH Article: Edition

43

VTMBH Article: Article Order

8

VTMBH Article: Title

Caravan of the brokenhearted: another 100 Pakistanis board a charter flight and are deported

VTMBH Article: Author

Azeem M. Mian

VTMBH Article: Publication

Pakistan Post

VTMBH Article: Original Language

Urdu

VTMBH Article: Translator

Rehan Ansari

VTMBH Article: Section

briefs

VTMBH Article: Blurb

VTMBH Article: Keywords

VTMBH Article: Body

Chartered flights took between 90 to 130 Pakistanis from New York to Louisiana, and eventually to Pakistan. One young man was not deported at the last moment, after a judge made a phone call from his mobile phone (the judge had accepted the application made by the American wife of the young man.)

Many of those deported never received legal assistance. Some were too ashamed and fatalistic to seek help while incarcerated. It is possible that some may have not suffered deportation if they had asked for help. Some American lawyers say that if the community were better organized and had a fund then the legal battle to save them from deportation could have been successful and of historic significance.

Between 90 to 130 Pakistanis were sent to Louisiana from Newark Airport where they joined Pakistanis picked up from other states. Two chartered flights deported them to Pakistan. According to one estimate the total number deported is around 200. The flight that departed from Newark had a dramatic moment, when Faisal Alvi, 26, was disembarked after a judge phoned his release in.

Alvis case is an example of successful initiative. His American wife contacted the free legal clinic organized by the Coney Island Avenue Project and spoke to its director, Ahsanullah Bobby. A lawyer working for the organization made an appeal that was accepted. The orders to not deport Alvi were made to the authorities at the airport in the nick of time. Faisal Alvi is presently in jail and will receive a hearing in December.

According to Ahsanullah Bobby, Alvi had previously applied for legal status and had been denied and issued a deportation order. Five years ago, he married an American citizen, with whom he has a 4 year old child. He was arrested after September 11th, as Immigration and Naturalizaton Service (INS) policy has been to seek anyone who had been issued a deportation order, regardless of their current status.

The Coney Island Avenue Project has helped 135 Pakistanis with legal and economic assistance. In one case, the organization sued the INS for harassing a Pakistani woman as officials arrested her husband, and for jailing him for an unconcionable time. This family has now moved to Pakistan of its own accord, wishing to end their nightmare.

Several lawyers who spoke to this reporter have said that many of the deported could have prevented deportation if they had asked for legal help. Stories that are now coming out show that many deportees had no idea of their rights. Others were so intimidated by their arrest and felt such acute shame that they simply did not contact their friends and relatives. Friends and relatives of some detainees were equally ignorant of seeking legal help.

One lawyer said that he is surprised that the U.S.-based Pakistani community has no fund for legal representation of detainees. He said that of the million Pakistanis living in the United States, 12,000 are doctors, 50,000 are Infotech professionals, three are billionaires and 3,000 millionaires, and yet there is no fund. Since September 11th, the lawyer continued, he and his colleagues are aware of professional Pakistanis who spent time and money pursuing the cases of those arrested who were economically disadvantaged, but nothing can replace a community effort. A community organization that can speak on behalf of a million American citizens and residents could present an effective case to the American public and the media.

VTMBH Article: Line Breaks

1

VTMBH Article: Date

2002-11-27

VTMBH Article: Thumb

VTMBH Article: Article File

VTMBH Article: Hit Count

118

Citation

“Caravan of the brokenhearted: another 100 Pakistanis board a charter flight and are deported,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 26, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/1415.