Why Hide The Numbers?

By Michele Orecklin

This much could be expected after Sept. 11 when the Federal Government began holding in secret more than 1,000 people: the American Civil Liberties Union and at least one Democratic politician from New England would raise hell. But what was perhaps not as predictable is that protest would come from a conservative stalwart like Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. Earlier this month he joined Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont in writing a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft to express concern over the covert roundup of mostly immigrants suspected of being connected to the terrorist attacks. Since then, Leahy has repeatedly asked the Attorney General to release the number and names of detainees.

Ashcroft is not budging. His office told Congress it would continue to withhold the names of detainees, saying to do otherwise would compromise their privacy and potentially hamper the investigation. But it is also possible that Justice officials are as confused as everyone else about a definitive list. On Nov. 1 the department reported that from Sept. 11 to that date, 1,147 people had been detained nationwide. But at a briefing a few days later, Ashcroft spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said that senior department officials were not happy with the way the totals were being calculated. For one thing, it is a cumulative tally, not a count of those currently in custody, which means it does not specify how many of those detained have been questioned and released, or how many have been charged with a minor crime and met bail. Justice also feared that a number of individuals were being counted twice, once for illegal-immigration status and a second time for committing a state, federal or local crime. Tucker said the department would no longer issue daily or even weekly updates, because the task of making and synchronizing lists was too labor intensive.

What we do know is this: the Justice Department has broken up the 1,147 into four categories. The first is made up of those held by the INS for immigration violations; as of Nov. 1 they totaled 185. The second group, for which an exact number remains unknown, comprises those jailed for federal offenses like credit-card fraud. The third, also an unknown quantity, consists of those arrested for state and local crimes, such as parole violations or carrying a concealed weapon. The fourth set is made up of those said to be material witnesses to the attacks. The number in this category is believed to be five to 10, though all information relating to their arrests has been sealed by a federal judge. Included in this group is Zacarias Moussaoui, arrested in August for immigration violations after the flight school he attended alerted authorities to his desire to learn to fly a passenger jet, though he could barely handle a single-engine plane.

Of the total arrested, the majority are men in their 20s and 30s. They have been picked up because they were born in an Islamic nation or were doing suspicious things, such as applying for licenses to transport hazardous materials. Some have been detained after coming forward to offer information. Others appear to have a direct connection with the hijackers. One detainee in this category is Osama Awadallah, a Jordanian student attending school in San Diego, who is not considered to have been involved in the attacks but has been jailed since mid-September and is charged with lying to a grand jury about knowing one of the hijackers. He has pleaded not guilty. His name was found among the hijackers' belongings.

--By Michele Orecklin. With reporting by Elaine Shannon/Washington

With reporting by Elaine Shannon/Washington