WASHINGTON Ñ The United States plans a crackdown on thousands of
illegal immigrants from the Middle East.
Officials said federal agents will begin detaining immigrants this week
as part of a drive by the Justice Department. They said the first step will
be a round up those who have ignored deportation orders by U.S. courts and
are considered criminals.
About 1,000 immigrants from the Middle East and Pakistan are said to be
in this category. Officials said 6,000 immigrants are on a wanted
list, having immigrated from countries used as bases by Saudi fugitive Osama
Bin Laden.
Overall, an estimated 314,000 illegal immigrants have been ordered to
leave the United States. Arab and Islamic groups have protested the
targeting of immigrants from the Middle East.
A Jan. 25 Justice Department memorandum cited by the Washington Post
said federal
agents from the FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S.
Marshals Service have been ordered to arrest and prosecute illegal Middle
East
immigrants as well as examine their ties to Islamic insurgency groups.
Information from the interrogations will be stored in a new computer
database on links between organizations deemed as terrorists.
