ACLU Sues on Behalf of Foreigner

This case has me flummoxed. I am apparently missing some intrinsic knowledge as to why the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the U.S. government on behalf of a foreign citizen who is not in the U.S. At what point in time was it decided to grant American civil liberties to foreign citizens in foreign countries?

From Newsday.com:

A judge said Thursday he was troubled because U.S. authorities have not decided whether a leading Muslim scholar can enter the United States to make appearances before organizations that have invited him.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty said he would consider ordering the appropriate government authorities to decide on the status of Tariq Ramadan so he can resolve a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU accused the government of manipulating the Patriot Act to try to silence the outspoken Swiss intellectual and Muslim scholar, who has been invited to speak in the United States later this month and twice later this year.

Since Ramadan doesn't have standing as an American and is not in the U.S., it would seem that the judge could have simply thrown the case out of court. Granted, I'm no legal guru. I'm just applying some common sense which probably is my mistake. Frequently, common sense and the law are not compatible.

Nevertheless, there's another aspect of the Ramadan issue that is worth mentioning. It seems that evidence indicates Ramadan has had very cozy past, and possibly current, relations with Muslims of the terrorist persuasion. Now, it seems to me that if the government is balking on granting Ramadan a visa because of terrorist ties, it's justified. If the government is balking to allow for a more extensive investigation of Ramadan's alleged terrorist ties, that's also justified. So, what's the problem?

The ACLU's involvement in the case doesn't make a lot of sense from a jurisdictional standpoint but, when one considers that its lawyers are customarily paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, it becomes logical. Hell, if I had a guaranteed paycheck from every lawsuit I filed, I'd spend most of my time filing lawsuits.

Unfortunately, applying common sense to a political issue is a mistake and that's what I've done. So, the ACLU is suing the U.S. government to protect the American civil liberties of a Swiss Muslim in Switzerland. What's next? Maybe the ACLU will sue to force the U.S. government to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide Guatemalan paraplegics with wheelchair access to facilitate illegal entry into the U.S.

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