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November 23, 2004 Ashcroft Out, Gonzales In? from Immigration News Briefs (INB) Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on Nov. 9 that he would resign. Ashcroft was favored by Christian fundamentalist sectors of the Republican political base and was widely criticized by rights advocates for his antagonism toward immigrants and civil liberties. Ashcroft presided over a federal dragnet that apprehended and deported hundreds of Arabs and South Asians on immigration violations under the pretext of the "war on terror." [New York Times 11/10/04; Washington Post 11/10/04]On Nov. 10, President George W. Bush nominated White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to succeed Ashcroft as attorney general. Gonzales has publicly defended the Bush administration's policy of detaining terrorism suspects for extended periods without access to lawyers or courts. He is best known for his January 25, 2002 memo stating that the "war against terrorism" creates a "new paradigm" which "renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions." Gonzales must be confirmed by the Senate before he can take office. [AP 11/10/04; ACLU Press Release 11/10/04; American Progress 11/10/04]
Posted by aderkon on November 23, 2004 10:02 AM
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