In an ongoing effort to inform the community about the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) special "call-in" registration program requirements, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) recently held a briefing with envoys from the Arab States at the office of the League of Arab States in Washington, DC. A representative from the Arab American Institute also participated in the discussion.
The briefing was attended by an Ambassador or representative from each member of the League of Arab States. Legal and Media representatives from ADC outlined the details of the INS special "call-in" registration program. They elaborated on each of the requirements for the four affected groups to date.
Moreover, ADC conveyed to the attendees a number of problems that have been reported directly to ADC's Legal Department and provided information about the various actions taken on behalf of the community. Following the presentations, ADC addressed the concerns of the attendees in a question and answer session. During the session, a number of ideas were circulated on how best to coordinate strategies to deal with the ramifications of these regulations.
The meeting's chair, Ambassador Nabil Fahmy from the Arab Republic of Egypt, stated that he will be calling for a follow-up meeting to address the technical and procedural aspects of the INS registration program.
Further contacts with Administration officials, as well as public hearings for Arab Nationals residing in the United States and wide dissemination of the Regulations are being considered. Special emphasis was placed on the impact on international students, including extensive data collection to determine the best possible approach to address their concerns. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
