I am conservative (fiscal, not as much social) and haven't really had much opinion on the Department of Homeland Security until yesterday. At 7am on the morning after the 4th of July, I heard a loud banging on my front door. I had had quite a bit to drink for the 4th, so i was a bit bleary when I stumbled out of my room and opened it. Two people dressed in weird white police uniforms were outside and they came in saying they were agents for the Department of Homeland Security in Immigration. They asked if my roommate Faryar was available (we've lived together for 3 years). Faryar is originally from Iran, moved to Sweden when he was 3 and got his citizenship there. He came to the US when he was 14 and lived here ever since. He is now 22 and has a month and a half of college left. I said, "yeah, i think so" and went and knocked on his door. Faryar also had been out the night before and it took him about 2 minutes to get up and dressed and answer his door. During that time, these two agents kept asking me if I was armed, or if faryar had weapons anywhere in the apartment and walking around inspecting everything like I was a criminal. Finally, Faryar comes out and asks whatsup. The male agent said, "I know you're not a terrorist, and the Department knows you're not a terrorist (how they know this is beyond me), but you are from a country of interest and we have questions for you." Faryar has been planning on getting his degree in a month and then moving to England with his parents, so he had forgotten to renew his visa for the last month. So these agents told him he had to go with them and led him out handcuffed. I haven't seen or heard from him in two days and finally today after calling about 25 different Homeland security numbers and being pushed around by bureacracy I finally tracked him down to a jail about an hour away from where we live. I still haven't talked to him yet. I have been calling around all of our friends (we are pretty social and have a lot of contacts in high places) and now have three lawyers working on getting bail (i don't know why the hell he needs it- it's not like he is a criminal about to flee the country- they are trying to deport him anyways) and getting him home for his classes. I understand the need to hunt for potential terrorists, but it is ridiculous to come after a Swedish citizen with two agents in the early morning for overstaying his visa for a few days after he has already been in the country for 8 damn years! I feel really sorry for immigrants without the friends and connections that Faryar has. The department of Homeland Security is a horrific bureacracy that damn nearly loses the people it captures. I have been so pissed and aggravated for the last few days, the Patriot Act has lost my support and I am going to try to let everyone I know that we are getting closer and closer to having a sort of secret police that can take people away and not tell you where they are, what they did wrong, or even if they are OK.
That is crazy, but not surprising. I wrote a mini-thesis paper on the problems with the Patriot Act in University. I don't think that the majority of people know what the Feds can do to someone expected of terrorism legally. It's pretty scary. I hope everything works out for your roommate.
Thanks for the sympathy. I am trying to get the word out about how ridiculous the Patriot Act and the department of Homeland Security are.
Mayby because Al Qaida terrorists can operate freely here in Sweden. They test their weapons here. Faryar may have been secretly working for the Iranian secret police. We don't know.
LOL. Faryar moved out of iran to sweden when he was 3. He came to the US from sweden when he was 14. He has been americanized more than any other immigrant i know. I have lived with him for 4 years. He is a goofy, fun guy who likes to go out, play basketball and NOT GET SCREWED BY THE GOVERNMENT!!!!!!
Will you be updating your website with this story? Was just looking at it and didn't notice any mention of it there. Though I did see some photos of your mentioned friend. You don't think it had anything to do with high value jewelry, do you?
The Nazi SS would have tossed your buddy into a furnace, not put him in jail for overstaying his Visa. Get a grip.
Have I not been saying freedoms are fading right before our eyes? 8 years in America and this is how they (the bush administration) is treating him. The department of homeland security is nothing more than another POS government program that does nothing but waste money and screw over people. Nothing is private anymore... This my friends, is exactly what happens when you give in to paranoid fear of things that don't exist - and you sacrifice your own freedom and privacy for a false sense of security. Just remember - it's not going to stop, it's only going to get worse. At least until Bush leaves office - and then it's up to you not to vote for another criminal in the next election.
Yes, but you always fail to show any valid example and this is no exception. To make this argument, you have to assert that (and given that it's true) breaking the law by letting a passport expire is a freedom. It is not a freedom.
Sounds to me like Faryar (the guy who was arrested) would make an excellent recruit to the intelligence services. Perhaps all is not how it appears?
Stupid comparison,american homeland security to the ss The american government is bad but not nazi like. your freind might be an iranian james bond.
It never ceases to amaze me how heavily some people criticized the government for doing nothing to round up people with expired visas prior to 9/11. Now that they are doing what they were supposed to be doing all along, they are called Nazis. It sounds like they treated you and your friend with respect. BTW, you cannot post bail unless he was charged with a criminal act and I don't think they are going to let someone being deported out on bail. I suspect there is something more to this story. If it is accurate, you better find out what he is charged with.