FBI Director Robert Mueller was asked about the Iraqi interviews during his testimony before a House committee today. He refused to comment on how many of the interviewees had been arrested or detained.

Reaction remains mixed, at best, among the Iraqis selected for FBI interviews. As we reported yesterday, while the FBI would like us to believe that these interviews are fine with Muslim-Americans and not much more than a social tea, that's an overstatement. Many Iraqi-Americans have felt insulted or intimidated by them.

An American citizen, Hanna said the questioning sends a message that "U.S. citizenship is nothing more than a piece of paper," that the government doesn't "trust your loyalty."

We raise another issue now. Yesterday we also mentioned that last month Ashcroft gave the FBI the authority to arrest and detain Iraqi interviewees for immigration violations, which are not criminal offenses. Before, it was the INS who performed this function. But now that INS is kaput and the FBI works closely with Homeland Security, Ashcroft thinks it makes sense to let the FBI do it.

This morning on MSNBC, we watched a former FBI agent be interviewed by anchor Chris Jantzen. She asked him about the FBI's newly granted authorization to arrest Iraqis in the context of these voluntary interveiws. He acknowledged the authorization, but stressed that it was discretionary with the agents. Only 30 had been arrested and detained so far. (This number matches press reports.)

As we were trying to figure out whether he could possibly mean what we were afraid he meant by stressing that the FBI agents' arrest authority is discretionary, he came right out and said it: When they come across a selected interviewee who is in violation of an immigration regulation, the agents can tell the interviewees that they have the ability to overlook the violation if they cooperate with the interview. On the flip side, they have the ability to arrest them if they don't. Chris Jantzen asked the former FBI agent guest about this again, and he confirmed it, saying "It's leverage."

We do have a problem with the FBI using the threat of arrest or detention over a non-criminal offense as a tactic to get a voluntary interview. At court this morning, we were in the hall, waiting for a case to be heard and talking to an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a court interpreter. We told them what we had heard this former agent say on the show, and they both did doubletakes. Any federal law enforcement agents or prosecutors out there want to tell us why we're wrong to think this goes beyond the pale?

There was a debate on the Patriot Act at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Instapundit moderated.

[Professor Reynolds] said it's the citizens -not the courts - who bear the greatest responsibility for protecting civil liberties. "For people to defend their rights, they have to know what's going on," he said.

You can get a lot of information about Patriot Act I and II here and here. We all need to be vigilant and ensure that the Bush Administration-- Attorney General John Ashcroft in particular--doesn't use our increased attention in the war as an opportunity to slip some more of its privacy-intrusive bills past us.

Associated Press Reporter David Ammons reports from Olympia, Washington that the FBI now concedes that its "voluntary" interviews of Iraqis and Iraqi-Americans in the U.S. are causing anxiety among the interviewees. (article available on fee-based Lexis.com.) The FBI wants us to think all is hunky-dory with the interviews. It's not. In Columbus, Ohio, there have been 16 harassment complaints filed. The Seattle- Post-Intelligencer reports ,

Some Iraqi immigrants in Washington, already anxious because of the war in their native land, say unannounced home visits by federal agents are further elevating stress levels and causing distrust of the government.

One Iraqi woman was home alone when agents came to interview her. She "thought they were going to arrest her husband," said Yahya Al-Garib, community advocate for the Iraqi Community Center in West Seattle. "They feel like they're in Iraq right now."

An immigration-rights group is working to provide legal assistance to the jittery immigrants, who are being interviewed this week in a nationwide effort to counter terrorism, curb hate crimes and track down illegal immigrants.

Annette Lamoreaux, East Texas regional director of the American Civil Liberties Union, sat in one of the interviews last week when an Iraqi woman was being questioned, and she saw it differently.

"With each question, I felt more and more embarrassed to be an American. I mean, this is not my America," says Ms. Lamoreaux, who advised the frightened woman being interviewed not to answer most of the questions. "These interviews may be legal, but I find them morally offensive."

What are the Iraqis being asked?

The questions go like this: Do you support Saddam Hussein? Do you know any Saddam sympathizers? What is your religious affiliation? What are the names and addresses of your Iraqi family members living in the United States?

Sounds to us just like the communist witch hunt in the 1950's, shades of Joe McCarthy. There are real concerns with the interviews.

"It's viewing the foreign born and newcomers with suspicion, a guilty-until-proven-innocent approach. We need to find that balance between being open to immigration and remaining safe." Contributing to the problem are contradictory signals from the government, says Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and a former INS commissioner. For instance, having FBI agents simultaneously conducting interviews and enforcing immigration laws could exacerbate immigrants' fears.

As for the FBI's assertions that they are not seeking to arrest and deport Iraqis, but only to question them, consider this, from the Associated Press:

In the wake of the Supreme Court refusal to examine the FISA Review Court's approval of expanded spy powers for Ashcroft, the American Civil Liberties Union is calling upon Congress and the Courts to provide greater oversight.

The ACLU also disclosed today that, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA,) it has received documents establishing that Aschroft is bypassing the courts to exercise his authority to force banks, Internet service providers, telephone companies, and credit agencies to turn over their customers’ records.

You can read about the surveillance in the Post-Patriot Act age and the ACLU's FOIA/Patriot Act lawsuit here..

As to what you can do to stop this unwarranted, ill-advised expansion of spy power without judicial oversight, go here.

The FBI reports it has interviewed 5,000 Iraqis in the U.S. since last month. The FBI says the interviews are voluntary. 30 interviewees have been arrested and detained afterwards, although none have been charged with a crime.

Although the FBI says it is not using the interviews to arrest large numbers of Iraqis, two law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity said about 30 have been detained on immigration charges since the program began last week.

Late last month, Attorney General John Ashcroft gave the FBI and U.S. marshals authority to arrest people on immigration charges.

Some of those held are people the FBI had under surveillance and decided to apprehend when hostilities with Iraq began, the officials said. None had been charged with any terrorist plot, espionage or any other criminal offenses, the officials said.

Here are the reasons that many civil liberties and immigration groups object to the singling out of Iraqis for these interviews.

Know Your Rights from the National Lawyers' Guild--Now Available in Seven Languages

You do not have to answer any questions by the police, FBI, INS, or other law enforcement agents.

Do not talk without a lawyer. Say you want to see a lawyer.

You do not have to sign any paper without a lawyer with you.

You do not have to let the police, FBI, INS or anyone else come into your house without a “warrant” (special paper from a judge).

You do not have to answer any questions about your immigration status.

Atrios reports that the National Lawyers' Guild and the ACLU are establishing hotlines for Iraqis contacted for interviews by the FBI.

In San Francisco, The National Lawyers Guild hotline is (415) 285-1055.

We just don't like the sound of "Operation Liberty Sweep" one bit. Here's how it works:

The sweep, a joint operation between the FBI and Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is aimed at Iraqis whom federal agents have identified as living in the country illegally and who "might pose a threat to the safety and security of the American people," according to a statement announcing the operations in Colorado as well as dozens of similar ones throughout the country.

Federal law enforcement officials said they could not release the total number of Iraqis who would be detained nationwide but emphasized they would be arrested on immigration-law violations rather than charges directly connected to security or terrorism.

The arrests are part of a larger mobilization of federal law enforcement that began Monday ....Known as "Operation Liberty Shield," the immigration sweep will include voluntary interviews with as many as 11,000 Iraqis across the country in an effort to glean intelligence and prevent terrorist attacks in the United States.

Here in Colorado, the feds plan to "interview" approximately 150 Iraqis. Most of them came here in the late 80's to early 90's, seeking political asylum. Most of them already oppose the Iraqi regime, that's why they came here in the first place. So why are we arresting them as threats when all they've done is overstay a visa?

When the U.S. did this to Iranian students back in the 70's, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it, finding it was not a discriminatory application of the immigration laws.

Nonetheless, these are round-ups of people who have not committed a crime. They are being selectively targeted because of their national origin. While the U.S. may have every legal right to deport them, it should not single them out solely because we are at war with their home country. Whether here legally or not, once here, they are also entititled to equal protection and due process under the law. This is racial, ethnic and religious profiling at its worst.

Interesting....the FBI is adopting the "Knock and Talk"--one of DEA's most favored tactics. Here's how it goes in DEA land: Knock on the Door. "Excuse me, Sir, we've received some information you may be cultivating marijuana. Do you mind if we come in to discuss this?" As the words are coming out, the agents, usually in a pair, step through the front door. When they get to court, the agents say they had consent to enter. The defendant disagrees and says the leg just stepped through the open door without waiting for an answer or as or after he or she said, "no." The agents then claim that as soon as they cross the threshold into the house, they smell "raw, growing marijuana." At which point, they claim, they ask for and get a "consent to search" the house, and lo and behold, there's a pot grow going on in the basement below.

Bottom Line: Yes there was a pot grow, but they knew it about beforehand and didn't have enough for a search warrant , so they go to the house to use trickery or worse to gain entry. Another end run around the Fourth Amendment. Which, according to the Supreme Court, protects everyone in this country, not just citizens. (We're not talking about "enemy combatants" here but people residing in this country.)

We'll see how this translates and plays out in the FBI interviews.

As the war advances, the FBI and a number of other federal law enforcement agencies will intensify a broad spate of interviews targeting thousands of Arab Americans and visitors, law enforcement officials told ABCNEWS.

Of particular focus will be two groups: persons of Iraqi descent living in the United States and others from countries where al Qaeda is known to have operations.

These are known as "knock and talk" operations. The overall goal is to gather information and the FBI will also be informing people in these communities to report hate crimes. But the unstated goal is to get tips about those who might commit acts of terror — within these groups U.S. officials have identified suspected Saddam Hussein supporters and al Qaeda sympathizers.

Those who are out of status, in terms of immigration law, will be detained by the FBI under new authority granted by Attorney General John Ashcroft that took effect on Feb. 28 — the last day the Immigration and Naturalization Service was under his jurisdiction (it's now part of the Department of Homeland Security).

Once detained, people go into a media black hole, and the government is not required to even reveal their names. Other people — who they can't charge with anything — will essentially be told in blunt terms: "We know who you are — and we will be watching you." Cities of particular interest are New York, Washington, Chicago, Miami, and Detroit.

Granting FBI agents — and U.S. Marshals — the power to detain immigration violators marks a major departure from previous policy, and is likely to spark protest from civil liberties groups.

A Justice Department official, however, told ABCNEWS that the ability to detain out-of-status immigrants is an important anti-terror tool, and that it would be used judiciously.

The ACLU will have much more on this.

The ACLU says FBI Questioning of Iraqi Nationals in U.S. will hurt, not help, the terror war.

The government's latest plan to question thousands of Iraqi nationals is yet another example of ethnic and religious profiling that may hamper rather than help efforts to apprehend terrorists, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

In response, ACLU offices across the country have been mobilizing to identify --and in some cases provide special training for --local attorneys to accompany Iraqis to the interviews, which are scheduled to begin this week. The ACLU expressed concern that some FBI officials have told Muslim groups that the presence of an attorney would lead them to immediately suspect that the person might "have something to hide."

In the same breath that they are asking for assistance from Iraqi nationals in thwarting terrorism, the FBI is alienating people by treating them like suspects and discouraging them from consulting with an attorney, which is their right," said Dalia Hashad, the ACLU’s Arab, Muslim and South Asian Advocate.

"There are many good reasons to have an attorney present during questioning, none of which have anything to do with guilt," Hashad said. "Further, it is unlikely that people with information will come forward when they feel that having an attorney present will render them suspicious to the government and not having an attorney present will expose them to unwarranted detention or worse."

Hashad said that the ACLU has been fielding phone calls from frightened Iraqis, many of whom fled Saddam Hussein’s regime and are concerned that the government is targeting them for questioning merely on the basis of their country of origin.

Here's more.

"Attorney General John D. Ashcroft has issued orders that allow FBI agents and U.S. marshals to detain foreign nationals for alleged immigration violations in cases where there is not enough evidence to hold them on criminal charges, according to Justice Department officials and a copy of the rules."

"The regulations, issued in December but not announced publicly, significantly breach the wall that has long separated federal law enforcement agents from immigration officers, who previously were the only personnel authorized in most circumstances to detain people in the country illegally."

"Several immigration advocates condemned the change as the latest in a series of federal counterterrorism tactics that have unfairly targeted immigrants. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Justice Department has conducted a dragnet that ensnared hundreds of immigrants, launched an effort to arrest more than 300,000 who have ignored deportation orders, and is photographing and fingerprinting visitors from 25 countries, almost all of them predominantly Muslim."

"It's part of a pattern that we're seeing in which what may be minor violations of immigration law are used as a pretext for preventive detention," said Bill Frelick, an immigration policy expert at Amnesty International. Judy Golub of the American Immigration Lawyers Association also questioned whether Ashcroft was overstepping his authority, saying Congress and the public should have been notified of the change."

"The Dec. 18 order authorizes "special agents of the FBI to exercise the functions of immigration officers for the purpose of . . . investigating, determining the location of and apprehending any alien who is in the United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act" or other immigration laws, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post."

Putting his thumb on scales of justice:

News Item: "The government has room to scale back individual rights during wartime without violating the Constitution, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Tuesday."

The national Bill of Rights threat level goes from Yellow to Orange.

Think you've seen everything? We Have Seen the Present, and It Does Not Work: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia banned the broadcast media from a Wednesday appearance where he was to receive an award for supporting free speech.

Here's more.

"Civil-rights groups and immigration advocacy organizations are protesting one element in the government's security procedures announced yesterday in anticipation of war in Iraq--a decision to jail asylum seekers from dozens of mostly Muslim nations while officials check out their claims of persecution in their home countries."

"It's a shocking development,'' Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil-rights group, said of the asylum policy. "Many asylum applications can take years. It seems unfair to put people in jail who are escaping persecution and who have done nothing wrong just because they are from certain countries.''