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Egyptian students disappear in U.S.
FBI hunting 11 exchange students who didn't show up at schoolTuesday, August 8, 2006; Posted: 10:07 p.m. EDT (02:07 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Immigration agents and the FBI are looking for 11 Egyptian students who entered the United States on valid student visas, then failed to show up at a university in Montana, authorities said.
The FBI on Saturday issued a nationwide alert to law enforcement agencies. Included were the students' names, ages, passport numbers and photographs.
"At the present time there are no known associations to any terrorist groups. Approach with caution," the lookout bulletin states.
FBI and immigration officials confirmed there's no evidence pointing to criminal activity or a terrorist threat. However, The Associated Press quoted a law enforcement official as saying that the students could be sent home when found because they violated the terms of their visas.
They were part of an all-male group of 17 students that landed July 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Six of them arrived later at Montana State University as part of an exchange program; the other 11 did not, prompting school officials to contact the government.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said the men, who range in age from 17 to 22, may be staying in New York, visiting relatives and trying to find jobs.
"We have run their names through the wringer," one Department of Homeland Security official said.
U.S. authorities are working with foreign intelligence agencies to make sure there is nothing suspicious in the students' backgrounds, federal sources said. Those sources added that 20 students applied for student visas to go to Montana State, but three of the applicants were denied.
"We do want to talk to them. But at this point there's no reason to believe they pose any criminal or terrorist threat," said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Julie Myers, who heads Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The students were identified as:
• El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, 20
• Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El Dessouki, 21
• Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, 20
• Mohamed Ragab Mohamed Abd Alla, 22
• Ahmed Refaat Saad El Moghazi El Laket, 19
• Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, 21
• Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed El Moghazy, 20
• Ebrahim Mabrouk Moustafa Abdou, 22
• Moustafa Wagdy Moustafa El Gafary, 18
• Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, 20
• Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, 17
Montana State? Are you kidding me? Twenty Egyptian young males all apply to Montana State and no one asks what's up with that? (Of course, it does suggest a lack of sophistication on their part, too. Not like half of them wouldn't be missed if they don't show up.)
There's nothing to suggest they pose a threat? This certainly does suggest our Immigration and Homeland Security measures since 9/11 are really operating efficiently. Un-frickin-believable.
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__________________
oderint dum metuant (Latin for 'let them hate, so long as they fear').
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
Egyptian students disappear in U.S.
FBI hunting 11 exchange students who didn't show up at schoolTuesday, August 8, 2006; Posted: 10:07 p.m. EDT (02:07 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Immigration agents and the FBI are looking for 11 Egyptian students who entered the United States on valid student visas, then failed to show up at a university in Montana, authorities said.
The FBI on Saturday issued a nationwide alert to law enforcement agencies. Included were the students' names, ages, passport numbers and photographs.
"At the present time there are no known associations to any terrorist groups. Approach with caution," the lookout bulletin states.
FBI and immigration officials confirmed there's no evidence pointing to criminal activity or a terrorist threat. However, The Associated Press quoted a law enforcement official as saying that the students could be sent home when found because they violated the terms of their visas.
They were part of an all-male group of 17 students that landed July 29 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Six of them arrived later at Montana State University as part of an exchange program; the other 11 did not, prompting school officials to contact the government.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said the men, who range in age from 17 to 22, may be staying in New York, visiting relatives and trying to find jobs.
"We have run their names through the wringer," one Department of Homeland Security official said.
U.S. authorities are working with foreign intelligence agencies to make sure there is nothing suspicious in the students' backgrounds, federal sources said. Those sources added that 20 students applied for student visas to go to Montana State, but three of the applicants were denied.
"We do want to talk to them. But at this point there's no reason to believe they pose any criminal or terrorist threat," said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Julie Myers, who heads Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The students were identified as:
• El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, 20
• Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El Dessouki, 21
• Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, 20
• Mohamed Ragab Mohamed Abd Alla, 22
• Ahmed Refaat Saad El Moghazi El Laket, 19
• Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, 21
• Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed El Moghazy, 20
• Ebrahim Mabrouk Moustafa Abdou, 22
• Moustafa Wagdy Moustafa El Gafary, 18
• Mohamed Saleh Ahmed Maray, 20
• Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad El Shenawy, 17
Montana State? Are you kidding me? Twenty Egyptian young males all apply to Montana State and no one asks what's up with that? (Of course, it does suggest a lack of sophistication on their part, too. Not like half of them wouldn't be missed if they don't show up.)
There's nothing to suggest they pose a threat? This certainly does suggest our Immigration and Homeland Security measures since 9/11 are really operating efficiently. Un-frickin-believable.
Pam,
There are many U.S. universities that have sucessful exchange programs with foriegn Univerisities - and the country is better for it.
NAU has an agreement with a University in Malaysia - students go two years in Malaysia, then business Students come to NAU for the last two years. I had dozens of them (all Moslem) in my classes at NAU. They came over on the same plane, en-mass, etc.
If three were rejected, did the INS only check the three? We can't deny entrance to someone just because they are from an Islamic country - there has to be a reason.
So, they landed at JFK in NYC and never made it to Montana. They were supposed to arrive last week and no one has heard from them? Pardon me if I sound like a paranoid, ignorant, racist American, but, yeah, I'm a little concerned.
MSU's website says they enroll 284 students from 59 countries. I have no problem with diversity and/or encouraging students from outside the U.S. to attend school in the U.S. Hell, the university I work at has many agreements and exchange programs with other universities, but we have to be vigilant about things. After 9/11 our campus had many students who had problems regarding whether or not they could take classes the following semester because, if they left the country over break, they weren't guaranteed they'd necessarily get back in. Seems we've relaxed quite a bit since then.
I'm not saying that I don't think they should have been admitted to the college. Obviously MSU is paying some sort of attention since they did alert the authorities. Until these people didn't show up for class, there really wasn't anything the college could have done.
__________________
Paul Calvisi: How about you, Gerald Hayes. If you had to call a travel agent and go to one place in the world, where would it be?
WASHINGTON - An Egyptian exchange student, among the 11 who entered the United States but failed to report for their college program, was arrested Wednesday in Minneapolis, the FBI said. Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed El-Dessouki, 21, was arrested "without incident" by FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko said.
El-Dessouki is being held on an administrative immigration violation because he did not turn up for his monthlong exchange program at Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont., Kolko said.
The other 10 students remain at large. They arrived in New York on July 29 as part of a group of 17 students. Six students reported to Bozeman on time.
The missing students pose no terrorism threat, Kolko said.
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