ENEMY ALIENS: Double Standards and Constitutional Freedoms in the War on Terrorism

About 5,000 foreign nationals have been detained by the United States since September 11 and denied basic constitutional rights in the name of "wartime" expediency. Cole, who has litigated civil liberties cases on behalf of resident aliens and writes for the Nation, argues that denying foreigners rights within our legal system usually ends with citizens being stripped of those same rights. Cole (No Equal Justice) documents how this process has already started and discusses provisions of the Patriot Act that he believes will allow for even further government encroachment on our freedom. He also provides detailed historical examples of the government's record of persecuting opposition voices in the name of security against a foreign menace. He argues for the moral and pragmatic importance of avoiding a double standard and according foreigners the same rights as citizens. (Sept. 26)