Treatment of Polish Citizens at US Border Shocks Community

Map and flag of Poland (state.gov)

The following excerpt is from Feetin2Worlds.org, where the entire commentary is posted.

This year ends with an unpleasant intervention by Poland’s diplomatic staff at the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. At issue are recent cases of Poles who were denied entry to the U.S. at the New York-area airports.

While no one questions the right of the U.S. to bar certain individuals from entering the country, the treatment of Polish citizens was shocking to many, especially since most of those stopped at the border were older women in their 60s and 70s. Many of them were coming to visit their families and friends for Christmas, but instead ended up being interrogated by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and transported in handcuffs to a detention center.

Mrs Janina was one of 13 Poles, including 11 women, who were not admitted to the U.S. in the month of November at the Newark Liberty International Airport.  Some Polish citizens were also stopped at JFK airport.  Similar cases occurred in December.

Representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw stress that visas obtained in Poland do not guarantee that the visa-holder will be admitted to the U.S. The decision is up to CBP officers upon arrival to America.

After the interrogation, Poles were ordered to return to their home country on the next available departure flight.

However, while waiting, their custody was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who transported them to a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

During the ride, officers put chains around their waists that were also connected with handcuffs.  They also had chains put around their ankles. At the detention center they had to undress, and were given jail underwear as well as red uniforms, and were placed in cells.

In some cases there were no beds and no blankets, only concrete benches and a toilet bowl. Some women claimed that they had no access to their medication, even though they suffered from various diseases. Mrs. Janina, who has heart disease and high blood pressure, maintains that she was one of them.

According to a note sent to the Polish Daily News after a meeting between representatives of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs [and] the U.S. consul general in Warsaw, Mr. Philip Min, these two issues – handcuffing and chaining of the elderly and lack of access to their medication - were the two main complaints that became the subject of the diplomatic conversation.

Consul Wojciech Lukasiewicz of the Legal Affairs and Consular Protection Unit at the Polish consulate in New York claims that in the past he had seen cases of handcuffing Poles that were not admitted to the U.S. “But I’ve never heard about so many cases in such a short period of time and I’ve never seen elderly women being handcuffed,” he said.

In a phone conversation with the Polish Daily News, ICE spokesperson Michael Gilhooly explained that “people are restrained when they are transported for security reasons; for the safety of the public, for the safety of officers and for the safety of other detainees.”

He also assured that all individuals coming from the airport to the detention facility get a medical screening. “They see a health care professional from the Immigration Health Services, and the medical personnel is on hand in that facility 24 hours a day.” The complete change of clothing, including undergarments, Gilhooly described as detention standards.

But the question many Poles are still trying to answer is ‘why now?‘ Has anything specific provoked this kind of reaction or is it just American immigration policy getting stricter? It’s highly improbable that this kind of treatment has a specifically anti-Polish character, since according to Polish diplomats in New York they’ve been receiving similar signals from other consulates. Regardless of the reason, Poles who consider themselves close allies of the United States, feel disappointed.

In recent years Poland proved to be one of the most pro-American countries in Europe. It has supported the wars in Iraq (Polish troops left Iraq in October 2008) and Afghanistan. In August 2008 Poland signed an agreement to install part of the U.S. missile defense system in its territory. It has been a NATO member since 1999.

As summarized in the note sent by the Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry, “Because of particularly close relationship between our countries and traditionally extremely positive attitude of Poles towards the U.S., these cases are highly sensitive for the image of the U.S. in Poland.”

This strict enforcement applied to Polish citizens is even more surprising, considering that with the economic situation in Poland greatly improved, the number of Poles immigrating permanently to the U.S. keeps decreasing. On the other hand, more are coming to travel, to shop, or for business, which could only help the American economy.

source:  Feetin2Worlds.org

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNEWz.org.  All rights reserved.  This material may not be republished, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without the permission of the source.  Contact NEWz for more information at  EthnicNews {at} yahoo {dot} com.

SEE ALSO:Polish Triangle Officially Recognized in Boston

National Polish Newspaper Pushes Local News, More Votes and Community

CONSUL GENERAL LESNIEWSKI-LAAS: Since the 1600s, Poles Have Enriched America's Economic and Social Well-being

My Polish AmericaNEW ENGLAND ETHNIC NEWS WELCOMES YOUR VIEWS.Log in below to post your comments – or start a dialogue in the “SPEAK UPS” section in the left blue column.  New NEWz users must register first.

 NEW ENGLAND RESIDENTS:You can now self-post your ethnic events on the NEWz Calendar. 

Click here to learn more.