← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Ed Toner
Thread ID: 5451 | Posts: 9 | Started: 2003-03-10
2003-03-10 12:38 | User Profile
[Stop-SEVIS] 120 armed FBI agents stage pre-dawn visa raid at Univ. of Idaho StopSEVIS StopSEVIS@lava.net Fri, 07 Mar 2003 13:15:20 -1000
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The following letter was forwarded to SEVIS, and is chilling testimony to the campaign of fear and intimidation on university campuses. Information shared by universities through the SEVIS tracking system enable the INS, FBI and CIA to carry out such crimes. Send copies of this letter to your International Student Services, and your administration! Put it in your campus newspaper! This raid conveniently happened in a small town where it is difficult to build a strong movement in support of immigrants and international students. We'll keep you posted.
From: Prof. Elizabeth Brandt from Univ. of Idaho: Well, yesterday was an exciting day in my small town. The FBI flew in 120 agents, fully armed in riot gear, on two C-17 military aircraft (I think -- they were BIG planes) to Moscow Idaho (population 17,000 +/-) to arrest one Saudi graduate student for visa fraud. The raid went down in University of Idaho student housing at 4:30 a.m. in the morning, terrorizing not only the suspect's family (he lived in student housing with his wife and three elementary school age children) but also the families of neighboring students who were awakened by the shouting and lights and were required to remain in their homes until after 8:30 a.m. At least 20 other students who had the misfortune to either know the suspect or to have some minor immigration irregularities were also subjected to substantial, surprise interrogations (4+ hours) although none were detained or arrested yesterday. Now, however, a witch hunt for additional unamed suspects who supposedly helped the guy who was arrested is on. The INS and FBI are working together using gestapo tactics to question the students -- threatening their immigration status (and hence their education) if they don't answer questions which are really aimed at the criminal investigation. They have also threatened their partners and spouses with perjury charges if they don't talk. I spent yesterday working with our immigration clinic director and local criminal defense attorneys to organize legal representation for the students who are being swept into the hunt for co-conspiritors. We have reached out to our entire area (40 -mile radius) to find enough attorneys. Now I'm working on getting resources and support to them. The Saudi government is providing financial support. Reading about this stuff is one thing. Having it in your backyard is another. The international students at the University of Idaho are terrorized and scared.
Liz Brandt Elizabeth Barker Brandt Professor University of Idaho College of Law
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2003-03-10 14:25 | User Profile
UNFUKNGBELIVABLE......WELCOME TO USISRAEL
2003-03-10 14:56 | User Profile
120 FBI to thwart 1 Arab, but we can't send anyone to thwart 20 Million Mexicans
2003-03-10 18:23 | User Profile
I was a bit suspicious, so:
If you go to www.argonaut.uidaho.edu and then go to the archives section and look at the last couple issues, you'll see a few articles about the arrest, and the whole indictment was online at www.krem.com for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your Comment/Question:
A message forewarded to me told of a raid by 120 FBI on a Saudi student who was being investigated with a Visa fraud.
It was from Liz Brandt Professor, University of Idaho College of Law.
I can find no news link about this story.
Is it true? Can you provide any more details?
Thanks. Ed Toner LCDR USN Ret. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's a true story, and not in a single ID newspaper I could find.
2003-03-10 18:49 | User Profile
Another Demdanjuc, Zundell, etc..?
Retired TWA Captain, Retired LCDR USNR, USMMA 1953.
Re: 120 FBI Agents sent to arrest one student ë Reply #7 on: March 10th, 2003, 12:47pm û
[url=http://www.argonaut.uidaho.edu/archives/022503/arrest.htmlGrad]http://www.argonaut.uidaho.edu/archives/02...arrest.htmlGrad[/url] student arrested by federal agents
By Matthew McCoy Editor in chief
UI graduate student Sami Omar Al-Hussayen, of Saudi Arabia, was arrested Wednesday on seven charges of visa fraud and four charges of making false statements to the United States. Federal, state and local law enforcement arrested Al-Hussayen 4 a.m. Wednesday in his apartment at UI Family Housing on Sweet Avenue.
An indictment from Thomas Moss, United States attorney, approved by a grand jury Feb. 13, states Al-Hussayen committed visa fraud and made false statements to the government when he did not acknowledge that he was affiliated with the Islamic Assembly of North America.
Kim Lindquist, assistant U.S. attorney, said, ââ¬ÅThe arrest went down quietly.ââ¬Â
IANA is an organization committed to the daââ¬â¢wa: spreading the word of Islam. Al-Hussayen worked on their Web site and 13 other sites related to IANAââ¬â¢s official site, www.iananet.org.
BRIAN PASSEY / ARGONAUT / United States Attorney Thomas E. Moss (right) and FBI Special Agent Chip Burrus give details about the arrest of UI graduate student Sami Omar Al-Hussayen of Saudi Arabia during a press conference noon Wednesday in Moscow City Hall. Al-Hussayen was arrested during a raid at 4 a.m. Wednesday by the Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with seven counts of visa fraud and four counts of making false statements to the United States.He will be arraigned 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Boise. Al-Hussayen, 34, lived in Moscow with his wife and three sons. His family was not taken into custody. As dependents, if Al-Hussayen is deported, his family also will be deported.
Governor Dirk Kempthorne said in a press conference Wednesday that this arrest vindicates his previously vague references to the threat of terror in Idaho.
UI President Bob Hoover and Provost Brian Pitcher both said they new about an investigation last year, but did not know who was involved. Pitcher said he was informed of the arrest after it had occurred.
Moscow Mayor Marshall Comstock said ââ¬Åwe are still a very safe, non-risk place to live.ââ¬Â Pitcher said no change will be made to UIââ¬â¢s class schedule because of the arrest.
Chip Burrus, special agent in charge of the FBI in Salt Lake City, said questions outside the ââ¬Åfour corners of the indictmentââ¬Â could not be answered.
Officials present at the conference declined comment on questions concerning the nature of evidence gathered today and questions concerning Al-Hussayenââ¬â¢s connections to terrorist organizations.
ââ¬ÅHe will be afforded all the rights and privileges offered to [defendants in a U.S. court],ââ¬Â Lindquist said.
ââ¬ÅMr. Al-Hussayen is innocent at this moment.ââ¬Â
This story will be updated late Thursday evening, and full coverage will appear in the Friday print edition of the Argonaut.
News Editor: Brian Passey Webmistress: Amanda J Hundt UI Argonaut, 301 Student Union, Moscow, Idaho 83843 208.885.7845
2003-03-10 19:10 | User Profile
Yeah, I can drive by thousands of illegal bean-dogs every day in Los Angeles, but the INS, FBI, etc. ... can't seem to find them, to round them up. Yeah, we know who's in charge. As many have said, ask "Who is it we are not allowed to criticize?"
These day, we could also ask "What are we not allowed to criticize?" Of course, in many instances, the latter question is the SAME as the former.
2003-03-10 19:30 | User Profile
I heard that a National Alliance leader had 70 goons decend on his house and arrest him. Does anyone know what they arrested him for.
Whatever he did, I'm sure it didn't warrent 70 armed federal agents to arrest him.
2003-03-10 21:14 | User Profile
. Now, however, a witch hunt for additional unamed suspects who supposedly helped the guy who was arrested is on. The INS and FBI are working together using gestapo tactics to question the students -- threatening their immigration status (and hence their education) if they don't answer questions which are really aimed at the criminal investigation.
Good. Bout time they quit screwing around with the 500,000 or so visa violations, I say round up and deport these guests who are illegally in the country.
As for the "witch hunt", aiding and abetting illegals is a crime. They should arrest the whole Bush administration too.
One down 13 Million Mexicans to go.
2003-03-10 22:29 | User Profile
Let this be a lesson to Saudi Arabians in Idaho: Don't make T-shirts with the word "Nazi" above the Nike swoosh.