August 8, 2006, 5:18 pm
Response to Skipping School Riles Chertoff
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was less than pleased when the Federal Bureau of Investigation put out a BOLO (be-on-the-lookout) for 11 Egyptian students who failed to show up for class.
“The secretary was not happy that we went so far for a just a bunch of kids who cut class,” said one senior Homeland Security official. “It’s a visa violation not a national security matter. “ Foreign students now undergo background checks before being granted visas, the official said. The FBI said today that it was continuing to search for the missing students along with agents from Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau. “This remains an active investigation,” said FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko.
The Egyptian men were among a group of 17 students who arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York from Cairo on July 29 with valid visas, according to U.S. authorities and university officials. The other six arrived at the Montana State’s campus in Bozeman for a month-long program on English language instruction and U.S. history and culture, university spokeswoman Cathy Conover said. When the 11 didn’t turn up by the end of the last week, the FBI issued a lookout to state and local law enforcement, Kolko said. Law enforcement agencies say that there is no threat at all associated with the group. –Robert Block
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