El-Dessouki’s attorney said it was an innocent mistake.
"I think he meant well," immigration attorney Herbert Igbanugo said. "He didn’t understand the law. His uncles actually didn't understand the law because they gave him some bad advice."
Igbanugo explained that the student’s uncles live in Minneapolis. They thought that he could transfer to a different school on his visa instead of attending Montana State University where he had already been accepted.
Earlier in August, when the 17 Egyptian students landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, they said they got separated during customs inspections. El-Dessouki said he then couldn't find his gate and he missed his Montana flight.
"I think the story about what happened at the airport is extremely questionable," Judge Joseph Dierkes said. "I mean, he had a ticket to go to Montana."
After missing his flight, El-Dessouki hopped a Greyhound from New York to Minneapolis and stayed with his uncle.
Igbanugo said the student didn’t know he was wanted by the FBI the situation sure looked bad at the time.
El-Dessouki visited the U and applied later applied for an official Minnesota state identification card.
He told the judge that's proof he wasn't hiding out.
The judge granted El-Dessouki a bond of $1,700. So even though a nationwide manhunt put him behind bars, he could have been released and returned to Minneapolis Wednesday.
That didn't happen. Immigration officials took steps to keep him in jail.
Igbanugo said since this is a highly-publicized, officials want to keep him in jail even though officials have said none of the students was a direct threat. But the immigration official at the court hearing complained the case was a distraction since FBI had to round up all the missing students at a time when agents wanted to focus on heightened homeland security concerns.
Igbanugo predicted the U.S will probably move to have his client sent back to Egypt in the coming weeks.
"My first time out of my country" ... but I hopped a Greyhound from New York City to Minneapolis.
Oh-kay.
One or Two deciding not to report to their school would be suspicious enough.. but Eleven taking off for different parts of the country is very odd.
Most of the 9/11 hijackers were on student visas.
None are believed to pose a terrorist or criminal threat, per ICE. I think they were sent to probe security. Just send them all back to Cairo. Innocent mistake huh? Ignorance of the law is not a excuse.
I'll be generous and assume he is not the sharpest tack in the box.
Send the 11, plus ALL muslim-islamic-arab students back to the turd-world hellholes they came from. This insanity has to stop. We have hundreds of thousands of muslim-islamic-arab terrorists already here, waiting for 'their turn'. Whether it's gathering intel, probing security or conducting 'dry-runs', we're nuts for allowing this crap to take place!
Yeah, yeah, that's the ticker. 11 foreign students come to study at a particular school, but don't show up for classes at all. Who in his right mind would believe this cock and bull story for even a second?
May it be the last time in this country.
Revoke "student" visas from terrorist countries.
When will this country finally wake up?
PC is going to kill more people!
PROBABLY?! It better be more than 'probably', buddy.
This whole thing is such a bunch of BS.
But I can't believe we actually had the will power to care where these clowns went and to actually track them down. That's a start. Too bad we didn't do this with our borders a LONG time ago.
Bump
SO SORRY about the misunderstanding, but you are in violation of your VISA and thus it is revoked. You can attend the University of Afghanistan if you like however.........
I hope thise serves as a reminder that allowing people to come into the USA is based on OUR needs, not THEIRS.
If nothing else this will serve notice on all students coming in on visas to follow the rules and expect to be watched very carefully.
Don't like it -- don't come here.
It's so sweet of America to invite and accept muslim (terror) students from around the globe to participate in our schools of higher learning. Even sweeter that American taxpayers foot the bill too. American taxpayers are so sweet.
I have my doubts that this guy is really his 'uncle'. I hope it is checked out, and if they are lying about it the 'uncle' should be deported along with the 'nephew'.