{"id":265,"date":"2009-10-20T18:19:56","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T01:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harvardnsj.com\/?p=265"},"modified":"2009-10-20T18:19:56","modified_gmt":"2009-10-21T01:19:56","slug":"senate-approves-transfer-of-guantanamo-detainees-for-trial-supreme-court-grants-certiorari-in-kiyemba-v-obama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/nsj\/2009\/10\/senate-approves-transfer-of-guantanamo-detainees-for-trial-supreme-court-grants-certiorari-in-kiyemba-v-obama\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Approves Transfer of Guantanamo Detainees for Trial; Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Kiyemba v. Obama \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By NSJ Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Obama Administration is one step closer to achieving its goal of closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay by January 22, 2010.\u00a0 On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, the Senate, by a vote of 79 to 19, passed the $44.1 billion budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes a provision that would permit the continued transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil for prosecution.\u00a0 Before transfer, the executive branch would have to conduct a risk assessment of each detainee and notify Congress of its transfer decision.\u00a0 If cleared, the detainees would not be permitted to stay in the United States.\u00a0 Having already been passed by the House, the bill will now be sent to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.\u00a0 Senators opposing the bill voiced concern that providing detainees with the procedural safeguards afforded by U.S. courts could backfire, especially, according to Sen. Saxby Chamblis (R-Ga.), given that the detainees are \u201cforeign nationals who were captured outside the United States during a time of war.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The dissenting voices, however, were effectively silenced by the overwhelming majority.
\n<\/p>\n

The bill passed by the Senate also endorses another key policy objective of the Obama Administration:\u00a0 preventing the release of photos that allegedly depict American personnel abusing detainees abroad.\u00a0 Though the American Civil Liberties Union successfully obtained their release as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the Justice Department has filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court to challenge the federal appeals court’s order.\u00a0 The Senate bill would effectively trump the court\u2019s ruling in favor of the government.<\/p>\n

The Senate\u2019s action came only hours after the Supreme Court, over the objections of the Obama Administration, agreed to hear a case — Kiyemba v. Obama<\/em>, 561 F.3d 509, cert. granted<\/em>, 77 U.S.L.W. 3577 (U.S. Oct. 20, 2009) (<\/span>08-1234) — <\/span>involving the question of whether U.S. judges have the power to release Guantanamo detainees cleared of all charges onto U.S. soil.\u00a0 The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia had ruled that only the legislative and executive branches had the authority to admit foreigners into the country.\u00a0 The detainees involved in this case — 17 Uighurs deemed by the Bush Administration not to be enemy combatants — had been captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001 but have not been returned to China for fear they would face persecution.\u00a0 The Obama Administration has argued that it needs more time to seek alternative solutions to releasing them into the United States:\u00a0 it has already sent 4 of the Uighurs to Bermuda and secured relocation for 6 to Palau.\u00a0 Palau has offered to accept 6 of the remaining 7 as well.<\/p>\n

For more information on the Senate\u2019s recent action, see articles in the Washington Post<\/a> and the BBC<\/a>.\u00a0 To see more regarding the ACLU\u2019s Freedom of Information Act case, see here<\/a> and here<\/a>.\u00a0 For more information about Kiyemba v. Obama<\/em>, see the article in the Washington Post <\/a>and the opinion<\/a> by the D.C. Circuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By NSJ Staff Writer The Obama Administration is one step closer to achieving its goal of closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay by January 22, 2010.\u00a0 On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, the Senate, by a vote of 79 to 19, passed the $44.1 billion budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes a provision that would permit the continued transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil for prosecution.\u00a0 Before transfer, the executive branch would have to conduct a risk assessment of each detainee and notify Congress of its transfer decision.\u00a0 If cleared, the detainees would not be permitted 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