Deportation Hearings for 2 Aliens Accused of Link With PLO Halted

Deportation hearings for two of eight Los Angeles-area aliens facing deportation, stemming from accusations that they belonged to a Marxist faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, were halted Friday by an immigration judge because it appeared that they will be granted amnesty.

A third alien could be released from the case next month after an amnesty interview.

U.S. Justice Department lawyers made clear, however, that they will argue to deport two others for alleged subversion under the McCarran-Walter Act and, possibly, three others on lesser alleged visa violations. Their hearings were set for next March.

Traffic Jam

Ironically, one of the two aliens dismissed from the case Friday, Naim Sharif, 30, of Northridge, almost found himself facing deportation when--snagged in a traffic jam on the Ventura Freeway--he was late for the 9 a.m. hearing in the downtown Federal Building.

Immigration Judge Ingrid K. Hrycenko became irritated and warned that if Sharif did not arrive at 11 a.m., she would order him deported.

Just before 10 a.m., Sharif walked into the tiny hearing room.

“I don’t deport anybody today?” Hrycenko asked wryly.

“Thank God,” Sharif whispered, as he took a seat.

The eight aliens--seven Palestinians traveling on Jordanian passports and a Kenyan--were arrested by immigration officials in January, 1986, and accused of advocating international communism, a deportable offense under the 36-year-old McCarran-Walter Act.

At the time, immigration prosecutors charged that the eight represented “a risk to national security” through their alleged affiliation with a left-wing PLO group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The eight aliens denied they belonged to the PFLP.

Brief Detention

After a brief detention at the Terminal Island Federal Prison, which sparked a national uproar among civil rights and Arab-American groups, the government changed the charges.

Two of the aliens, the alleged local PFLP leaders--Khader Hamide, 34, of Los Angeles and Michel Shehadeh, 32, of Long Beach--were charged with “unlawful damage, injury or destruction of property” under the McCarran-Walter Act. The other six were accused of lesser visa violations.

On Friday, after an unsuccessful appeal by the aliens involving constitutional issues, the deportation hearing resumed after a 16-month delay. The government has yet to present its evidence against the aliens.

Two of the defendants--Sharif and Aiad Barakat, 27, of Los Angeles--were removed from the case by Hrycenko because their amnesty applications were expected to be approved soon.

A third alien, Julie Mungai, 30, the Kenyan-born wife of defendant Hamide, is scheduled for a final amnesty interview later this month, and her case could also be dismissed.

Under the 1986 immigration reform law, immigrants who violated the terms of their visas before Jan. 1, 1982, may qualify for amnesty.

The other three aliens facing deportation on visa violations are two brothers attending Cal State Long Beach, Ayman and Amjad Obeid, ages 26 and 25 respectively; and Bashar Amer, 26, a Cal State Los Angeles student.

Lawyers for the aliens--including the lead attorney, Dan Stormer of Los Angeles, immigration law specialist Marc Van Der Hout of San Francisco and Mark D. Rosenbaum of the American Civil Liberties Union--urged government attorneys to expedite a court order for information on whether lawyers’ or aliens’ telephones were tapped during the course of the case.

Justice Department attorneys William P. Joyce and Michael P. Lindemann said they will seek a response from the agency’s Office of Intelligence Policy and Review.