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.)

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.