I write this morning’s post from a bus taking me from Boulder to Denver, Colorado, on my way to attend a friend’s hearing in Federal District Court.

This friend of mine, you just might have heard of him. His name is Zuhair Mahd.

He was born in Jordan and has been in the U.S.A. legally for 17 years. In 2004, he leapt obediently through all the hoops our government holds out to every immigrant seeking citizenship, passed all the tests, and then went home to wait for “name checks” to clear. (9/11 changed everything, remember.)

And he waited. And waited.

While he waited, he suffered the intimidation of repeated FBI visits to his home. Apparently they’d show up in the dead of night and insinuate that Zuhair should show his loyalty to his country of naturalization-to-be by acting as an informant. Y’know, because the terrorists are everywhere, and We Have Here A List Of Names Of Confirmed Communists Al-Qaida Sympathizers.

Prompted in no small part by these disquieting visits, Zuhair got himself more informed on immigration law–and discovered that the government was legally required to decide his citizenship application within 120 days. Consulting the calendar revealed that it had been well more than that. The U.S. government was illegally delaying his application.

In fact, it had “misplaced” his application. “Oops, sorry, we lost it. Start over.”

Zuhair declined, preferring to sue.

And, given how the necessary lawyer fees were well out of his reach, Zuhair represented himself. That’s right. He took the Feds to court without a lawyer by his side.

Oh, and did I mention that he’s blind?

And he won.

The judge ruled that the delay was illegal and that Zuhair’s citizenship application was entitled to a timely resolution.

So… why the hearing? Simple. The Immigration Service complied with the ruling by deciding Zuhair’s citizenship application promptly… in the negative. Because, so they said, the fact that Zuhair had the temerity to sue the U.S. government showed that Zuhair did not have the necessary respect for authority to be a U.S. Citizen.

Think about that one.

Oh, and, hey. If you’re one-a-them smug doomsayers congratulating yourself on their cynicism to the tune of “And you’re surprised?” you can just sit on it. Any comments along those lines will be summarily deleted. I don’t care who you are, I’ll delete it. Because as far as I can tell, the only thing such withering scorn actually communicates is that outrage is somehow a form of naivete, and that resignation is a form of wisdom.

Eff that. That adds nothing to the conversation. I’m not resigned. I am outraged. And anyone who gives a damn about what this country is supposed to stand for should be just as outraged.

For the entirety of our current President’s term, certain departments of the Federal Government have made clear that they think they are above the law. Geneva Conventions? Quaint. Habeas corpus? Outmoded. Freedom of speech? Doesn’t apply if you’d criticize Mr. Bush.

Zuhair had the patriotism to hold our government accountable to the rule of law. And Immigration Services decided that this indicated a trait unbecoming of a would-be U.S. citizen.

If Immigration Services doesn’t like my being an outspoken critic of the current administration, they can suck it. I was born in the U.S.A. I may be theoretically in danger of being disappeared into Gitmo, but I’m a citizen.

But if you’re born elsewhere and you want to become a citizen, Immigration Services reserves the right to review your application on the basis of whether you’re an obedient little sheep.

That says a lot about what the people currently in office expect out of current citizens, doesn’t it?

Today the federal goverment will defend its decision to deny naturalization to Zuhair Mahd in front of Federal District Judge Walker D. Miller.

And I’ll let you know how that goes.