[UPI - 12/11/01] DETROIT -- FBI agents fanned out across southeastern Michigan Tuesday to find more than half the Arab and other Muslim men who were sent letters asking them to set up meetings with investigators gathering information about terrorism.
U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins sent letters to more than 500 individuals who entered the United States since January 2000 on temporary visas, part of the 5,000 Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered interviewed nationwide by Dec. 21. Collins said 104 of the letters were returned due to incorrect addresses.
To date, only 242 of those sent letters had contacted the U.S. attorney's office. The deadline to respond was Monday.
"Those individuals who have been interviewed have been very cooperative," Collins told a news conference, adding that 60 percent of those interviews have been completed. "This office has received no complaints regarding the conduct of the interviews."
The letters said the recipients, mostly between the ages of 18 and 33, were not suspects but may have information that would be helpful to investigators.
"We have no reason to believe that you are, in any way, associated with terrorist activities," the letter said. "Nevertheless, you may know something that could be helpful in our efforts. In fact, it is quite possible that you have information that may seem irrelevant to you but which may help us piece together this puzzle."
Investigators said they had no objection to the presence of counsel during the interviews but attorneys representing some of the men said many of their clients were afraid to cooperate because they are afraid of being deported or prosecuted for immigration violations that have been overlooked in the past, despite assurances from the U.S. attorney's office that investigators are not looking for visa violations.
Kary Moss, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Michigan chapter, said the letters were counterproductive.
"Everyone is fearful of the consequences," she told the Detroit News. "They may have included a lot of people who don't have a lot of information and missed others who might have useful information."
Eastern Michigan is the only jurisdiction where letters were sent out. Elsewhere, authorities have just contacted individuals directly.
About 300,000 Arab-Americans live in the Detroit area, one of the largest concentrations in the United States.
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[posted 12/12/01]
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