By Jasmine Holmberg

Staff Writer

In an announcement last week that drew immediate criticism from both Arab-American and civil liberty groups, Attorney General John Ashcroft stated that the Justice Department is expanding its program to question young, male Muslims in an effort to gather information regarding terrorists and terrorist activity.

``We believe that these individuals might either wittingly or unwittingly be in the same circles, communities, or social groups as those engaged in terrorist activities,'' stated Ashcroft.

Last year the Justice Department sought to question approximately 4,800 Muslim visitors. However they were able to find and interview only about half that number, just over 2,200. The new expansion plans would mean an additional 3,000 names to the list. What are the requirements to qualify for questioning? You must be a Muslim man, aged 18-33 years old, visiting the United States sometime after January of 2000 with a non-migrant visa, and a passport from any area where the Al Qaeda is thought to have a presence. What is not required is any suspicious activity.

In a speech earlier last week in Alexandria, VA, Ashcroft said, ``In the first round of interviews, these visitors to our country have been selected for interviews because they fit the criteria designed to identify persons who might have knowledge of foreign-based terrorists. The individuals to be interviewed are not suspected of any criminal activity.''

The Justice Department maintains that these interviews are voluntary. According to the New York Times, Ashcroft said that contrary to dissenting opinion, these voluntary interviews have improved relations between the government and Arab and Muslim communities. Larry Margasak of the Associated Press, quoted Ashcroft saying that these interviews have, ``fostered new trust'' with the communities. However, many organizations are outraged at what they deem to be no less than racial profiling.

Michigan representative John Conyers Jr., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said that, ``While [Arab and Muslim communities] are more than willing to contribute to the war on terrorism, the national leadership of Arab and Muslim organizations have expressed to me their outrage over this illegal form of racial profiling.''

Conyers also stated that, ``The suggestion that Arab and Muslim-Americans appreciate being singled out and interrogated is a prime example of the Attorney General's wartime propaganda machine in full swing.''

In Alexandria, Ashcroft responded by saying that, ``Contrary to the critics who warned that reaching out to visitors in this country would create friction and resentment, we have seen over the course of these interviews an improvement in relations.'' He went on to comment that, ``Representatives from many of the agencies involved in the project, myself included, made a point of meeting with community and religious groups to explain the project an to listen to their concerns. This outreach effort put many of their fears to rest and helped to enlist the support to these groups for this project.'' Ashcroft cites the fact that over 90 percent of the people who were asked to be interviewed cooperated with the government, as proof of mutual goodwill.

The Justice Department's earlier actions have drawn wide spread criticism for being ineffective and critics are concerned that this time around will be no different.

James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute said, ``Law enforcement officials and local community leaders alike have made it clear to us that the first round of interviews produced no useful information,'' referring to last year's interviews.

Ashcroft denies Zogby's comments, stating that, ``The task forces were able to develop sources of information that should give potential terrorists pause,'' and that the interviews have produced, ``a significant number of leads for investigators looking into the September 11 attacks and other potential terrorist activities.''

Although the interviews have not culminated in any arrests connected to September 11, there have been about twenty arrests concerning immigration violations.

Ashcroft does concede that the government's inability to find nearly half of the people they wished to interview indicates ``serious flaws'' in the immigration system. This comment comes on the heels of news that the Immigration and Naturalization Service had recently mailed visa extension notices to a flight school for two of the Sept. 11 hijackers, according to one New York Times article.

Ashcroft has said that he hopes for a significant improvement in the immigration system and maintains that the current interview program is not part of the problem but that it guarantees, ``potential terrorists hiding in our communities [will know] that law enforcement was on the job in their neighborhoods.''

He adds that an expanded interview program will create, ``Such a climate [that] could cause would-be terrorists to scale back, delay or abandon their plans altogether,'' and that furthermore the program ``may well have contributed to the fact that we have not suffered a substantial terrorist attack since Sept. 11.''