by the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights

About the author: The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights works in the United States and abroad to advance justice, human rights, and respect for the rule of law.

Immediately after [the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States] the United States' national program to admit refugees fleeing persecution around the world was shut down completely for almost three months, stranding more than 22,000 refugees who had already been told they could come to the United States. At the same time, the U.S. government began an intensive effort to apprehend accomplices and prevent another attack. Thousands of people who had nothing to do with terrorism—mostly non-citizens—were trapped in a hastily-cast net. Nearly 1,200 people were detained, mostly Arab, South Asian and Muslim men. Most of the detainees caught...