Federal terror probe targets 'dissident' Muslims and Arabs

PAGE TOOLS
	send-to-friend print-friendly version add to my morning paper respond to editors / author increase type size decrease type size
Sign up to receive NewStandard headlines and extras by e-mail weekday mornings! Your privacy is strictly respected.

Oct 8, 2004 - Federal investigators have amplified programs to interview Arabs and Muslims living in the United States, looking for people critical of the government. They say they are acting on intelligence suggesting the possibility of a terrorist attack in the United States.

Meanwhile, immigration officials are also cracking down on immigrants sought by law enforcement agencies or in violation of the terms of their entry visas.

Civil liberties groups are worried that the interviews unfairly single out people because of their religion or ethnicity. All interviews are voluntary, according to LaRae Quy, a representative of the FBI, but she did not reveal how many people would be questioned. "We're trying to get a feel for people in the community who are dissidents, who are anti-government," Quy told Knight Ridder Newspapers.