The case of Kari Rein.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Kari Rein is a diminuitive 42-year-old mother of two who has lived for the past 15 years in Grants Pass where she and her husband, a U.S. citizen, run a business harvesting herbs and seafood.

While returning home three weeks ago with her family after a vacation to her native Norway, Rein was seized by federal immigration officials after a routine records check revealed that she had once been convicted of growing six marijuana plants for personal use more than a decade ago.

Now, Rein is facing deportation - and possible separation from her family - under the government's hard-line approach to enforcing immigration laws in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Anyone out there feeling safer?

Immigration officials refuse to discuss the specifics of Rein's case but say they have become more aggressive since Sept. 11 in moving against aliens convicted of deportable crimes, even minor ones unrelated to terrorist activities.

The nation is fluctuating between orange and yellow alerts, and federal officials are warning of another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. It's hard to reconcile those terrorism-related concerns with the government's expenditure of time and effort in deporting Kari Rein and others like her across the country.

If Rein had been convicted of a serious crime - say an attempted murder or sexual abuse of a child - or even if she had failed to complete the terms of her sentence (in Rein's case it was probation and community service), then deportation would make sense. But it doesn't make sense to kick her out of the country for growing a handful of pot plants for what the judge in her case recognized was personal use.

Something's askew. Common sense, along with proper allocation of resources, suggest there are better ways to enforce immigration laws and achieve homeland security. Compassion for Rein and her family also suggest that a modicum of flexibility and discretion is in order.

Rein, of course, is just one of many immigrants who have become caught in the gears of the dysfunctional machine that is the U.S. immigration system. Horror stories abound, particularly among Arabs and Muslims who have become priority targets in the wake of Sept. 11. Federal detention centers across the country are filled with men and women whose cases are in limbo and who, unlike Rein, cannot afford legal counsel and lack access to sympathetic news media.

As for Rein, the government should allow her to remain in this country with her family. It should also make certain that its post-Sept. 11 immigration enforcement efforts are more sharply focused to meet the true challenges at hand.