After a twenty-year legal ordeal, Palestinian-American activists Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh can finally rest.  The two  were part of the “LA 8,” a group of seven Palestinians and a Kenyan activist based in Los Angeles.  The government wanted to deport them for their activism, saying at first that they were promoting world communism.  When that did not work, they dropped the case against six of them and went after Hamide and Shehadeh based on terrorism charges.

January 26, 1987: Eight L.A. residents were arrested under a 1952 anti-communism law — launching one of the longest immigration cases in U.S. history. The ‘L.A. 8’ (seven of whom are pictured at left in 1987) were accused of being members of a Marxist Palestinian group, which they denied. The ACLU/SC joined other lawyers in defending the eight, and charges were never filed. But members of the L.A. 8 faced deportation based on the same evidence.

Finally, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is completely dropping the case. This announcement comes more than ten months after a crucial decision by Judge Einhorn of the Los Angeles Immigration Court.  He struck down the government’s arguments and sought to end the proceedings against the two immigrants.  The court’s opinion found “that the Government has failed to carry its burden of proving respondents deportable based on clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence.”

Hamide and Shehadeh were pleased to finally see the end of a legal battle that weighed heavily on them and nearly destroyed their lives.  They expressed anger over what they saw as a politically motivated, baseless prosecution. “My family and I feel a tremendous amount of relief today,” said Hamide. “After 20 years, the nightmare is finally over. I feel vindicated at long last. This is a victory not only for us, but for the First Amendment of the Constitution and for the rights of all immigrants.”

Shehadeh agreed. “I am extremely happy but do have mixed emotions,” Shehadeh said, “The government was wrong for twenty one years. They  robbed us, and our families, of the best and most productive years of our lives. We are now free to continue living our lives, acting on our beliefs, raising our families,  supporting our communities, loving our country, defending justice and the Constitution,  and prospering as good citizens.”

It all began in January, 1987. The government arrested the two men and six others.  They were dubbed the ” LA 8.”  The government kept them in maximum security prison, and accused them of having ties to a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The evidence used against them was mostly drawn from activities protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.  The government “alleged that Hamide and Shehadeh distributed newspapers, held demonstrations and organized humanitarian aid fundraisers for Palestinians,” according to a press statement put out by several public interest groups who worked on the case. This story reads like a legal history.  Their case has been heard before the U.S. Court of Appeals four times, the Supreme Court once, and the Board of Immigration Appeals multiple times. Several organizations celebrated the end of this case.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the National Lawyers Guild, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee all released statements proclaiming the end of this legal nightmare. Their attorneys claimed the case was a victory for the First Amendment rights of all immigrants and a vindication of their clients’ actions. “This is a monumental victory for all immigrants who want to be able to express their political views and support the lawful activities of organizations in their home countries fighting for social  or political change,” said Marc Van Der Hout, of the National Lawyers Guild. He added, “Hamide and Shehadeh did nothing more than advocate for Palestinians’ right to a homeland and support charitable causes and other legal activities in the Occupied Territories.”

ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora said, “This is not what our country should stand for and we know, as this case has demonstrated, that our system will not allow for such persecution.”

With each small victory, observors say, it is becoming more apparent that the government cannot perpetually persecute Arab Americans for their political activities.