INS, in a Panic, Wants List Back

New York Daily News ^ | 5/06/02 | TIMOTHY J. BURGER

[kattracks]

The INS has done it again — big-time.

Government sources told the Daily News that the Immigration and Naturalization Service gave congressional investigators a top-secret list of Sept. 11 detainees in an apparent breach of Justice Department policy.

Now, frantic department officials are beseeching the General Accounting Office to give it back.

The GAO is probing the treatment of the hundreds of detainees at the request of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.).

Attorney General John Ashcroft has guarded the list zealously as a national security secret and is waging war in court against civil liberties groups seeking to make it public.

Justice Department officials were apoplectic to learn that the INS handed the information to the GAO and they are negotiating for its return, said a law enforcement source and an administration official.

Officials are "scrambling ... to get the information back because it's national security information," one source said.

The INS move could badly undermine Ashcroft's policy of secrecy. The detainees have been held, sometimes for months, on INS charges while they are probed for terrorist ties.

"We're fighting all these court battles to not give this out," said one incredulous official.

The official said the matter is likely to land INS chief James Ziglar in hot water. "He will get reamed out," this source said.

Ziglar came under fire in March when the INS issued visas for dead Sept. 11 hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi, and when four Pakistanis jumped ship in Norfolk after an INS inspector improperly allowed them ashore.

A Justice Department spokeswoman refused to comment. GAO spokesman Jeff Nelligan said he could confirm only that his agency is investigating the treatment of the detainees.

[PRND21]

Abolish the INS.

[patriciaruth]

I thought they already abolished the INS. Or was it just the House so far that has voted to do that.

[SubMareener]

First, fire everyone hired between January 1993 and December 2000, then abolish the INS.

[piasa]

Clinton terrorist-supporting holdovers strike again

[piasa]

fyi

[Cindy]

Ahhh...with the INS on the job I know our borders are secure. What a warm and fuzzy feeling I get just thinking about it. (/sarcasm off)

[gunnedah]

No way! We need more government jobs.Just look at the FBI,CIA,INS what a wonderful masterful governmental screwup.Dont ever forget the Congress of the US has more criminals per capita than any other group in the world and this is a fact.We need to find a way to send some of these government jobs to China, Iran and Iraq or maybe that has already been done and we havent been officially notified yet!Congress reveals more secrets than all of the foreign agents in the US at present.No telling how many of them are on foreign payrolls and most of them take money from foreign governments anyway.

[Caipirabob]

We should simply alter the grounds for treason to include anyone with a "D" next to their political affiliation.

[tomkat]

The GAO is probing the treatment of the hundreds of detainees
at the request of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)

to what end ??

[ /symp sniffer ]

[Rustynailww]

"Clinton terrorist-supporting holdovers strike again"......bump

[Lion's Cub]

Thanks for the ping.

Apparently this list had a security classification--which means we know who turned it over and to whom it was given. Breaches of security should not be difficult to prosecute.

Conyers and Feingold should both be prosecuted for treason. They are acting as spies for hostile forces on US soil.

[RushLake]

Unabelievable even for the incompetent INS. By himself, Conyers will use it to the detriment of the country. Conyers is a racist America hater. He is championing the cause of an islamoterrorist who is here illegally and was arrested in the wake of 9/11 for running a so called charity which funnels money to terrorists.

[Lion's Cub]

Indexing

[Lion's Cub]

Furious ping! Hopefully this was just a test to plug the leaks and the list wasn't complete. The fact that these politicians, the INS, and GAO would conspire to aid and abet terrorists sends my blood pressure through the roof!

If the list is real, the damage is already done. But I still want those people involved prosecuted.

The only good thing about this is, if certain terrorist leaders needed this list that badly, it means they are afraid to communicate with individual cells to find out who was arrested...Which means in turn that somebody, somewhere must be doing an effective job.

[Diogenesis]

"The GAO is probing the treatment of the hundreds of detainees at the request of
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)."

Too bad they ignore the 911 Atrocity, to help the murderers.

[tomkat]

if i were ever to consider getting a tattoo,
there couldn't possibly be a better one than that photo ...

[healey22]

James Ziglar should update his resume and start licking those stamps!

[Morgan's Raider]

If Conyers has the list they'll get it back shortly -- on the front page of the Washington ComPost.

[StriperSniper]

We need to find a way to send some of these government jobs to China, Iran and Iraq

No, we need to send some of these government WORKERS to China, Iran and Iraq. ;-)