Do Not Be Alarmed

A bunch of Egyptian students came over to the USA via JFK airport. Not all of those students arrived at their destination school in Montana. The FBI says that they don't currently pose a threat. Okay.

The FBI would like to know where they are.

Good question.

Federal authorities are seeking 11 Egyptian men who arrived on student visas at Kennedy Airport on July 29 but never showed up for an exchange program at Montana State University.

The men were among 17 students from Mansoura University in Mansoura, Egypt, near Cairo, who had arranged to attend a new monthlong program on English language instruction and U.S. history and culture, Montana State University spokeswoman Cathy Conover said yesterday.

The men have no known ties to terrorists or criminal groups, federal authorities said yesterday. The FBI and Immigration and Custom Enforcement officials know who they are, but are not releasing their names, an official said.

"There is no threat associated with these men," said FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko. "We have simply asked law enforcement's assistance in locating them so that the FBI and ICE may interview them."

The FBI issued a be-on-the-lookout alert to law enforcement agencies after the men, aged 18 to 22, failed to show up at the Bozeman, Mont., campus as expected.

The men's visas have been revoked, and they will be put into deportation proceedings once they have been located.

How come the names are not being released. Would it not make sense to give the public this information so that they can track down these 11 people who are in this country illegally?

I know we should take a bit of comfort knowing that law enforcement realized something was up when these 11 Egyptians didn't arrive at the school as intended, but we need to do more to tighten up border control, which happens to include airport/port entry.

UPDATE:
The names of the 11 missing Egyptians has been published.

The FBI says the Egyptians arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on July 29 and disappeared. The advisory says the alert is nationwide but that there is specific concern the Egyptians may be on the Eastern Seaboard.

According to the advisory the 11 missing Egyptians are:

1. Ibrahim, El Sayed Ahmed Elsayed; DOB OF 4/29/1986.
2. El Dessouki, Eslam Ibrahim Mohamed; DOB OF 02/21/1985.
3. El Bahnasawi, Alaa Abd El Fattah Ali; DOB OF 04/02/1986.
4. Abd Alla, Mohamed Ragab Mohamed; DOB OF 02/15/1984.
5. El Laket, Ahmed Refaat Saad El Moghazi; DOB OF 09/01/1986.
6. El Ela, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamed Abou; DOB OF 02/02/1985.
7. El Moghazy, Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed; DOB OF 08/08/1986.
8. Abdou, Ebrahim Mabrouk Moustafa; DOB OF 02/25/1984.
9. El Gafary, Moustafa Wagdy Moustafa; DOB OF 07/01/1988.
10.Maray, Mohamed Saleh Ahmed; DOB OF 09/12/1985.
11.El Shenawy, Mohamed Ibrahim Fouaad; DOB OF 08/12/1988.

Curt at Flopping Aces had sent me this story this morning, and I'd be remiss if I didn't make special mention of him bringing this story to my attention.

Others blogging the ramifications of this story: Ed Morrissey, Blue Crab Boulevard, AJ Strata, Debbie Schussel, and Euphoric Reality.

UPDATE:
Link to Ed added above.