ACLU criticize FBI intimidation techniques

If the Federal Bureau of Investigation knocks on your door to ask you questions, you don’t have to answer.

“You have no obligation to speak to an FBI agent and should not without a lawyer present,” American Civil Liberties Union legal fellow Seema Saifee told students and community members March 17.

The Muslim Students Association hosted an event called “Know Your Rights,” where ACLU representatives explained people’s rights when confronted by law enforcement issues. The event was in response to last month’s reports of the New York Police Department’s surveillance of MSAs across the Northeast.

The event was part of Penn’s sixth Annual Islamic Law Conference. The Muslim Law Students Association and National Muslim Law Students Association helped Penn MSA host the conference.

A crowd of about 30 attended the lecture, which featured two lawyers from the ACLU. They discussed surveillance policies, questioning by law enforcement agencies and extra airport security targeted at Muslims.

Spending resources profiling and surveilling young people and those belonging to the Muslim faith “is not an effective or efficient use of resources,” ACLU staff attorney Mary Catherine Roper said.
“It’s simply harassment,” she added.

Roper and Saifee said the FBI often embarks on “fishing expeditions” to gather information from Muslim communities. FBI agents call people in the Muslim community and knock on their doors for an interview, Saifee said.

“The FBI doesn’t hide its efforts to approach people in the Muslim community,” Roper added. “They want you to know you are being watched.” She added that much of the surveillance was about “intimidation” rather than “safety.”

Many agree to let the agents into their homes or go to an interview to be polite or show that they have nothing to hide, Saifee said.

“Just because the FBI wants to talk to you, it doesn’t mean they have anything on you,” she said.

Roper added that oftentimes, FBI agents try to use unfair tactics to bring charges to Muslims. She also related tales of agents intimidating people.

After Saifee and Roper spoke, they took questions from the audience.

“What do you do if you think you’re under surveillance?” an audience member asked.

“Talk to us,” Roper said. “Whether or not we can do anything depends on if we can build a pattern.”

Roper and Saifee also discussed interrogations and detentions during air travel.

While the Transportation Security Administration can detain people for a more thorough search, Roper said asking questions about personal beliefs or what literature a passenger is reading is beyond TSA’s authority. There are limits to how long someone can be detained, she added.

Crossing country borders, travelers have many fewer rights, she added.

MSA president and College junior Mak Hussain thought the event went well.

“It’s a reality check,” he said. “It’s good to know your rights in different situations.”

He added that the information shared at the event would benefit everyone.

“I think it’ll make people more cautious, but I think given what’s happening it’s good,” Hussain added.

While Saifee and Roper said they could not change everything, they encouraged Muslims who felt discriminated against to come to the ACLU with their stories.

“The intimidation of Muslim communities is the one of the best-kept secrets of in this country,” Roper said. “We’d like to help change that.”

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