This post is based on a post at Brutally Honest. See also co-authored piece on Threats Watch, and coverage in National Review Online. Also see comprehensive list of all entities receiving similar treatment.
The concept of granting immunity to foreign nationals in our country goes back at least as early as 1790 when we passed "An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States," wherein immunity was granted to foreign diplomats. (This Act was revised in 1798 by the (in)famous "Sedition Act.")
The immunities were not as broad as one would think, and that lack of a broad immunity has been tagged as a reason, among many, why the League of Nations failed. In 1945, at the same time as the United Nations was formed, we passed the United States International Organizations Immunities Act. This Act gave foreign diplomats many of the same rights as citizens and permanent residents - to enter into contracts, own real property, etc. Additional rights were given, and in particular was this:
Section 2(c) Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable.
This section of the Act is the legal force behind all those "diplomatic pouches" we see in movies that cannot be inspected.
Before we get our knickers in a bunch, there is logic to this immunity. While we like our Constitution and laws, other countries like their Constitution and laws. It doesn't matter if the concept of personal freedom is more expansive here. If we expect immunity in their country, we have to extend it to them here. So we're somewhat stuck - we need to dwell in reciprocity.
The issue has been litigated plenty, with DeLuca v. the United Nations, (41 F.3d 1502 (1994)) being one of the most important of recent vintage. Our courts have consistently upheld the concept of immunity for international organizations - even though to do so leaves an aggrieved American plaintiff with no legal recourse to correct their injury.
Along comes INTERPOL: The International Criminal Police Organization. INTERPOL "facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime."
In 1983, President Reagan signed Executive Order 12425:
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, including Section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669, 22 U.S.C. 288), it is hereby ordered that the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), in which the United States participates pursuant to 22 U.S.C. 263a, is hereby designated as a public international organization entitled to enjoy the privileges, exemptions and immunities conferred by the International Organizations Immunities Act; except those provided by Section 2(c), the portions of Section 2(d) and Section 3 relating to customs duties and federal internal-revenue importation taxes, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act. This designation is not intended to abridge in any respect the privileges, exemptions or immunities which such organization may have acquired or may acquire by international agreement or by Congressional action.
Through EO 12425, President Reagan extended to INTERPOL recognition as an "International Organization." In short, the privileges and immunities afforded foreign diplomats was extended to INTERPOL. Two sets of important privileges and immunities were withheld: Section 2(c) (presented in full text above), and the remaining sections cited (all of which deal with differing taxes).
And then comes December 17, 2009, and President Obama. The exemptions in EO 12425 were removed:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and in order to extend the appropriate privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 12425 of June 16, 1983, as amended, is further amended by deleting from the first sentence the words "except those provided by Section 2(c), Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act" and the semicolon that immediately precedes them.
What does this mean? It means that we have an international police force authorized to act within the United States that is no longer subject to 4th Amendment Search and Seizure. The "property and assets of [INTERPOL], wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation."
INTERPOL, an international criminal police organization, is now poised to reside above the United States Constitution - in a place of sanctity beyond our FBI, CIA, DIA, and all other criminal investigatory domestic organizations.
President Obama has just placed our Constitutional rights under international law.
Comments
Can Obama be impeached for these actions? This needs to be brought to light. The mainstream media is head-over-heels for Obama, so there's no way they would cover something like this.
Jon, I wish. Impeachment is grounded in acts that would be criminal outside of office. Yes, doing things to harm the country can also qualify - but rarely would be considered. Remember that Clinton got nailed for lying under oath.
This act - elevating INTERPOL - is simply remarkable. I am speaking with Senate folks to push the idea of hearings. I'll write about the outcome.
this article is a flat out lie. If you read the interpol act you would see that Reagan allowed interpol to enter without search and seizure. President Obama deleted those sections of the act. You can find the act simple by doing a goole search. I read it.
www.ipu.org/finance-e/PL79-291.pdf
Here is the link if you would like to read the act.
Jon, I appreciate your comment. But let's get on the same page. The Act you link is not "the INTERPOL Act." It is an "international organizations" act passed in 1945. It did not apply to every entity that qualified as an "international organization." It was written specifically with the UN - being formed at that time - in mind.
In 1983, President Reagan recognized INTERPOL under the 1945 Act - the link you provide. INTERPOL was not so recognized before EO 12425 - it took the EO to recognize them and thereby include them under the privileges and immunities afforded thereunder. EO 12425 specifically limited the privileges and immunities given to INTERPOL to exclude the S&S/records issues under Section 2(c).
President Obama on 12/17/09 removed those restrictions. It is the first time this has been done for any LEO. See this post for more information - [change "dot"] threatswatch dot org/analysis/2009/12/wither-sovereignty/
Whoops! I meant Reggie ...
Reggie, further, if you go here - [change the DOT] tinyurl DOT com/yz2xf5y - you will see the entry for INTERPOL followed by "(limited privileges)."
The act, whatever it's called is "22 U.S.C. 288". Interpol officers are now to be treated like any other member of any other diplomatic mission. This is unremarkable. It doesn't mean that Interpol officers are somehow above the US constitution. Unless you can find that somewhere in the relevant text of the act:
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode22/usc_sec_22_00000288---c000-.html
Chris, see the post I just put up - click on Philadelphia Conservative Examiner below my pic up top to get the link.
It is different in this instance. INTERPOL is a law-enforcement organization. It investigates crime and makes arrests. It is therefore different from every other entity given privileges and immunities under the Act, and is likewise different from the role of every diplomat.
Think about this for a moment: We can subpoena any member of the FBI. We can get their persons and records into court. This is no longer possible with INTERPOL. They are exempt from 4th Amendment S&S. A police force that presently operates in this country in no longer held accountable as our own LEOs are.
Further, Chris, the "act" you link to is not the act under discussion here - it is merely a part of it. The relevant text which Obama exempted INTERPOL from is here: "Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable." The link is in the article.
This article is confusing and the author needs to go back to journalism school to learn to write with clarity. First he says diplomats, the UN, are exempt from searches and seizure by US law enforcement, and he says that's ok--"we need to dwell in reciprocity." Then he says Interpol, an int'l organization, is similarly exempt via EO of Reagan and Obama, and that's a catastrophe--prompting one excitable commentor to ask if Obama should be "impeached." "Our Constitutional rights," the writer says onimously, "have now been placed under international law." He makes it sound like Interpol can enter American homes and search them without a warrant, when all he actually said was Interpol has the same diplomatic immunity as the UN, etc. If I've got this wrong, it's the writer's fault. He also doesn't know how to write a lead paragraph. You're supposed to start off with "who, what, when, where and why," Mr. Writer. Your lead paragraph contains references. They go at the end.
I'm not a journalist by training or trade, Elaine, nor do I want to be, but thank you for the critique.
INTERPOL is fundamentally different from all other organizations or entities granted similar privileges and immunities in that INTERPOL alone has police power. I'll let you interpret the implications of that.
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