Opinion ID: 545486
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Rationale for Exclusion

Text: 18 The Department of State determined that Adams was ineligible for a visa under the provisions of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1182(a)(28)(F) because of his advocacy of and personal involvement with IRA terrorist violence. The government concluded that this activity fit within the language of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1182(a)(28)(F)(ii), (iii) and (iv), and that his involvement in terrorist violence barred application of Section 901, Public Law 100-204, as well as waiver of visa ineligibility under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1182(d)(3) and the McGovern Amendment, 22 U.S.C. Sec. 2691(a), because Adams was excluded for reasons other than membership in a proscribed organization. It also found that there would be adverse foreign policy consequences associated with his admission. 19 Appellants take exception. On appeal, they essentially argue that Section 901 entitles Adams to a waiver of the exclusionary provisions of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1182(a)(28), because Section 901 was enacted for the explicit purpose of prohibiting exclusion of aliens based upon ideological or political beliefs. This is, they assert, the only basis for Adams' exclusion. We disagree. 20 Contained within Section 901 is an express exception for those aliens who a consular official ... knows or has reasonable ground to believe has engaged, in an individual capacity or as a member of an organization, in a terrorist activity.... 101 Stat. 1399, Sec. 901(b)(2). While the mere abstract teaching ... of the moral propriety or even moral necessity for a resort to force and violence, is not the same as preparing a group for violent action and steeling it to such action, Noto v. United States, 367 U.S. 290, 297-98, 81 S.Ct. 1517, 1520-21, 6 L.Ed.2d 836 (1961), quoted in Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 448, 89 S.Ct. 1827, 1830, 23 L.Ed.2d 430 (1969), and cannot form the basis for exclusion, Adams' actions clearly went beyond the abstract. On the strength of the evidence before it, the district court could have reasonably concluded that these actions formed a facially legitimate and bona fide reason for denial of a visa to Adams. 4 21 The State Department had evidence of Adams' involvement with, and leadership in, the IRA. In the affidavit submitted to the district court, the Deputy Secretary of State declared that [t]here is reason to believe that, as commander of the Belfast Brigade, Adams had overall policy control over, and granted approval for, major PIRA terrorist operations carried out within the greater Belfast area. Not only did the State Department have information identifying Adams as the commanding officer of one of the three battalions of the IRA Belfast Brigade, but it also had evidence that he was the commander of the entire IRA Belfast Brigade during 1971-1972. Moreover, the Secretary of State had evidence of Adams' participation in a series of Bloody Friday bombings in Belfast, where 9 persons were killed and 130 were injured, as well as many other bombings. Finally, the State Department had information that Adams was a member of the IRA's Army Council, the body primarily responsible for setting the policy and strategy of the IRA, and which grants approval for major IRA terrorist campaigns. It believed that Adams was Chief-of-Staff of the Council for some period of time, and that, during his tenure, terrorist activities were intensified. 22 The consular judgment regarding Adams' relationship to terrorist violence and the reliability of the information used by the consular officer in reaching that judgment is subject only to very narrow review. We note, first, that in the absence of statutory authorization or mandate from Congress, factual determinations made by consular officers in the visa issuance process are not subject to review by the Secretary of State, 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1104(a)(1), and are similarly not reviewable by courts. E.g., Wan Shih Hsieh v. Kiley, 569 F.2d 1179, 1182 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, Wan Shih Hsieh v. I.N.S., 439 U.S. 828, 99 S.Ct. 102, 58 L.Ed.2d 121 (1978); Rivera de Gomez v. Kissinger, 534 F.2d 518 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 897, 97 S.Ct. 262, 50 L.Ed.2d 181 (1976). Thus, while Section 901 does authorize judicial review over the question of whether there was a facially legitimate and bona fide reason for an alien's exclusion, that review is limited to the determination of whether there was sufficient evidence to form a reasonable ground to believe that the alien had engaged in terrorist activity. 23 Appellants essentially argue that the government's information was entirely based on several statements he made as President of Sinn Fein, as well as reports made in various printed forms, including books and newspapers. They argue that it was impermissible to exclude Adams on the basis of this information because the articles, books and other materials relied upon by the government would be inadmissible at trial both because they contain hearsay, and because the information relating to Adams' involvement in terrorist activities may be less than fully complete or reliable. Thus, they contend, this information could not properly form the basis of a reasonable ground to believe that Adams engaged in terrorist activities. We disagree. 24 The decision to prohibit an alien from entering the United States under Section 901 does require that the government know[ ] or ha[ve] reasonable ground to believe that the alien has engaged in a terrorist activity. But the Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence are not applicable to the consular processing of visa applications. Instead, consular officers are permitted to consider all available information in making their determinations. See 22 C.F.R. 41.102(b), 41.103(b) and 41.105(a). The evidence so used need not have qualified for admission in a court of law. Thus, reasonable belief may be formed if the evidence linking the alien to terrorist violence is sufficient to justify a reasonable person in the belief that the alien falls within the proscribed category. 22 C.F.R. 40.6; see also Hamid v. I.N.S., 538 F.2d 1389, 1391 (9th Cir.1976); Kasravi v. I.N.S., 400 F.2d 675, 677 (9th Cir.1968) (superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in McMullen v. I.N.S., 658 F.2d 1312 (9th Cir.1981)). 25 The question of whether the evidence is sufficient, however, to support a finding of reasonable belief is a question of law which courts must resolve. Upon review, we think that there is sufficient evidence to support such a finding, and hence that there was a legitimate and bona fide reason underlying the government's decision to exclude Adams from the United States. The fact that the information relied upon by the government came from printed sources does not render that belief intrinsically suspect, and the district court did not err in so concluding. The evidence of Adams' involvement in the violent activities of the IRA, both as a policy maker and as a field commander, provides a facially legitimate and bona fide reason for his exclusion. In making this determination, it is important to note that there need only have been a reasonable belief that Adams was involved in terrorist activity: it is not necessary to have proven his involvement in the activity beyond a reasonable doubt. 26 We need not continue. Finding, as we do, that the government's evidence linking Adams with terrorist activity constitutes a facially legitimate and bona fide reason for Adams' exclusion under Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753, 92 S.Ct. 2576, we uphold the decision of the district court granting defendants'-appellees' motion for summary judgment. As the district court found, Adams was denied entry because of his personal involvement with terrorism, rather than because of his ideas or his association with a particular group. Hence, neither the McGovern Amendment nor Section 901 of Public Law 100-204 apply. 27 Affirmed. Costs to be borne by appellants.