Here are some comments from another lawyer who was at the scene of the University of Idaho raids we wrote about here:

The FBI anticipated that the Saudi students would refuse to answer their questions, which they have the right to do. Instead, they invoked a federal statute which allows immediate deportation if you refuse to answer INS questions relating to your immigration status. For each interrogation, the actual questions were asked by an INS officer, with an FBI agent and a member of the local task force on terrorism present. I was one of only two attorneys who got there in time to participate in the interrogation; most of the students were unrepresented.

Many of the questions were clearly not aimed at status but were instead attempts to gain information to use against the one student who was arrested. The indictment alleged visa fraud ... the visa application said that he was here strictly to go to school, and the fraud was the fact that he also set up a website, which they see as outside the scope of the disclosure in the application even though the student is working on his masters in computer science. The website is alleged to contain information designed to promote violence against the U.S. He is also charged with raising funds for the "Help the Needy" charity, which the FBI alleges is a front for terrorist organizations.

The questions they asked these students (who were justifiably terrified)
were unanswerable - things like :

- do you know of anyone capable of or willing to commit acts of violence against the U.S.?
- do you know of anyone advocating acts of violence against the U.S.?
- do you know of anyone who raises money for any purpose, charitable, religious or otherwise?
- have you every donated money to any organization, charitable, religious or otherwise?

It was a scary situation. Many of the students are wanting to leave the U.S. immediately, education be damned. Who could blame them?

Here's more from today's Denver Post.