FBI Alert—Missing Egyptians

Even though there are no known ties to terrorist organizations, the FBI has “issued an urgent nationwide alert for 11 Egyptian students who entered the United States last week but failed to show up for their courses at Montana State University.”^[1] According to the FBI, the 11 Egyptians arrived at JFK airport in New York on July 29, and disappeared; they are apparently in the United States “illegally” and are “wanted for questioning.”^[2]

At least, that’s what one report states. Another report states that the 11 individuals arrived with six other people, and they arrived “with valid visas.”^[3] They were scheduled to attend “a monthlong program on English language instruction and US history and culture.”^[4]

There are other discrepancies in the reporting. While one report states that ICE has declined to make their names public,^[5] another report lists their names.^[6]

Montana State University’s vice provost for international education, Norm Peterson, thinks that “these students decided they wanted to use their time in other ways, connected to being in New York, rather than Montana,” and that the parents of the students have not contacted the university about their missing children, which suggests to the school that the parents “apparently know where the young men are.”^[7] When the 11 failed to show up for class, the University tried repeatedly to contact them, and then ultimately reported them to the SEVIS federal database on foreign students.^[8]

SEVIS is the acronym for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.^[9] It is used to “track and monitor schools and programs, students, exchange visitors and their dependents throughout the duration of approved participation within the US education system.”^[10] There are, as of December 31, 2005, 591,403 foreign students registered and enrolled in class.^[11] 59% of them are from Asia, 13% from Europe, 7% from North America, 6% from Africa, 5% from South America, 5% from the Middle East, 3% from the Caribbean, and only 1% each from Central America and Oceania.^[12] Most students are enrolled in business or engineering classes.^[13]

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[1] FBI Alert: 11 Egyptians Missing from Montana, KLTV, Aug. 8, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Mark Sherman, Authorities Looking for 11 Egyptian Students in US, AP (via KATU), Aug. 8, 2006.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] See KLTV, supra note 1.
[7] Gail Schontzler, MSU Exchange Students Missing in America, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Aug. 7, 2006.
[8] Id.
[9] ICE, International Students: Student and Exchange Visitor Program, last visited Aug. 8, 2006.
[10] Id.
[11] ICE, International Students: SEVIS By the Numbers—Student Count, last visited Aug. 8, 2006.
[12] Id., Students by Geographic Region, last visited Aug. 8, 2006.
[13] Id., Students by Level of Education and Course of Study, last visited Aug. 8, 2006.