Posted on 08/11/2006 11:26:54 AM PDT by NoFoxholeAthiests
Six of the 11 Egyptian exchange students who recently entered the United States and failed to show up for their college program were in custody Thursday after three more were arrested, officials said.
Police arrested Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou El Ela, 22, at O'Hare International Airport after he tried to check in for a Chicago-to-Montana flight using an invalid ticket marked for a New York departure, Chicago police said.
El Ela raised his voice and became unruly after an employee at a Delta ticket counter refused to let him exchange the ticket for a valid one, said Timothy J. Bolger, the Chicago police officer at the scene. "He was loud and causing people to be alarmed," Bolger said. The officer said El Ela calmed down when police arrived.
After federal officials confirmed El Ela was one of the students they were seeking, police turned him over to immigration agents, Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline said.
Two other students, El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed Ibrahim, 20, and Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali El Bahnasawi, 20, were arrested at a residence in Dundalk, Md., outside Baltimore, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the FBI said.
All are being held on administrative immigration violations because they did not report on time to their monthlong program at Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont.
A group of 17 students, six of whom reported to Bozeman on time, arrived in New York on July 29. After Montana State repeatedly tried to contact the missing students, it notified Department of Homeland Security officials and registered the Egyptians as no-shows in a system developed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to track foreign students.
None of the students is considered a terrorism risk, and FBI officials stressed there are no ties between the Egyptians and the alleged terror plot broken up by British authorities.
The other five students were still being sought. Relatives in Egypt explained the students' failure to show up at Montana State by saying they probably wanted to find work in the United States.
"It must have been in his mind to stay where there are plenty of job opportunities," said Ibrahim el-Dessouki, the father of a student arrested Wednesday in Minnesota. "You know how much a dollar is worth here in Egypt."
He said he spoke to his son when he arrived in the United States but has not since.
Just nice fellows traveling across America......
The quote that keeps running through my head is "the are at war with us and we don't even know it."
Electronic ankle-bracelets for all exchange students.
Living near and being a frequent traveller in/out of O'Hare, I was particularly intriqued by the capture of one of the Egyptians there. How did he get from NY to Chicago? Hmmmmmmm.... inquiring minds want to know.
Wonder if TWA 800 was a test run of the "explosive liquid" approach to blowing up an airliner.
Hey, I've got an idea. Let's don't admit any "suspect groups" to the US to begin with.
Find work! They are only here for 4 weeks on a study program!
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The "find work" excuse doesn't wash. As I pointed out on another thread -- the smart thing to do if you're planning to work illegally under the circumstances is to go stay the month in Montana -- learn more English and get free room and board -- and then don't take the flight back to Egypt.
Possibly true .. but who's to say they are not operating a terrorist cel unto themselves and have plans for a future attack on America.
Not long ago, my next statemen would have been prefixed with .. "I'm sorry, but .. "
I don't think that way any more. I'm not sorry for how I feel .. nor how I think regarding any Middle Easterner that is in my country.
For too many years .. Saudi's, Iraqi's, Irani's, Egyptians, Afghani's, Pakistani's ... (hmmmm .. now that I type it out .. I see a common denominator ... they are all i's)
Well, anyway .. we Americans have been hated and attacked in too many different ways for me to feel like I should give any way to the 'good ones' as opposed to the bad ones.
Untill the 'good one's' come out loud and cleart .. imprisoning or killing the 'bad ones .. I ain't sorry for wanting ...
(now I'll finish that sentence)
I want every one of them out.
Exactly my thoughts! Why didn't they look for a job near campus? The story doesn't add up.
In other words, they lied to obtain a visa, and had no intention of being found.
Typical sandmaggot behavior.
I'm certain that the guy they grabbed in Chicago is a terrorist. He might very well not have known how easy or hard it is to change your ticket, but his complete lack of knowledge about what happens when you make a lot of noise in an airport these days says it all to me.
D@mned Arabs truly think we are stupid as a box of rocks.
So, what's his DUmmie screen name?
"Find work! They are only here for 4 weeks on a study program!
D@mned Arabs truly think we are stupid as a box of rocks."
Well, we let them in to begin with, didn't we?
I still remember back in Boulder during the Oklahoma bombing, when a bunch of Saudi students started cheering when the news broke on the TV in the chow hall.
Because you are not allowed to work when you are here on a student visa!
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