Abdelqader Abu-Snaineh should go back to where he came from. The La Roche College student is from Jordan, and he is upset. Abu-Snaineh, 21, told the college he had forgotten to register with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ICE is supposed to keep track of men older than age 18 from 25 Muslim countries. Our Middle Eastern guests who fit that profile must have their names, photographs and fingerprints on file. Abu-Snaineh forgot to register and used a news conference to register his displeasure about his nine days in jail. The law-breaking Jordanian says his crime deserves only a slap on the wrist instead of slapping on the cuffs. He said that he came here for an education and that he has a good record. Suddenly, he was put in jail with drug dealers, murderers and criminals. He hopes no other foreigners would go through such an ordeal. In published reports and TV newscasts, it seemed as though Abu-Snaineh could not stop whining. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. Shouldn’t every La Roche student have a good record• “We do not believe he should be deported,” says Ken Service, vice president for institutional relations at La Roche. “It was an honest oversight. The penalty should not be as severe as suggested.” Abu-Snaineh was not put in jail suddenly. He was required to register by April 25. Immigration officials arrested him June 10. He says schoolwork sidetracked him. “Since June 1, 2003, nearly 145,000 people have complied and registered,” says Chris Bentley, spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The gentleman was aware of his obligation, yet knowingly failed to do so.” Under the law, failure to comply with the ICE can lead to arrest, detention and removal from the United States, Bentley says. Being in prison with society’s bottom-feeders understandably is disconcerting, but who does Abu-Snaineh think we incarcerate• No foreigner need go through what Abu-Snaineh experienced if he just obeys the law. Abu-Snaineh said that if America believes he is a threat, he no longer wants to be here. Yet he is allowing the Greater Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to help him fight deportation. “Have you ever received a notice that you must register your car and then forget until it is too late?” says Vic Walczak, legal director of the local ACLU chapter. He says people stopped with an expired registration should not face car forfeiture. “The punishment should be commensurate with the offense.” Let’s hope we will be saying bon voyage to Abu-Snaineh soon. The real story is an adult immigrant decrying injustice in America, while fighting to stay in infidel-land. The story should be that the federal government is cracking down hard on law-breaking aliens. Some lawyers specializing in immigration law have told Walczak there might be thousands of unregistered aliens. Since that law was enacted last fall, ICE has ordered 13,434 other alleged violators to appear for hearings, according to Bentley. Don’t let apologists for Abu-Snaineh sidetrack you into believing his case is unique.

---

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---