WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department released on Tuesday immigration charges against 13 foreign citizens wanted for questioning about the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks, including a Saudi and a Pakistani who entered the United States in late August.
The additional documents brought to 46 the number of people for whom immigration charges have been made public. A total of 142 people are being held on immigration violations, a Justice Department spokesman said.
The violations were discovered during the investigation into the attacks the United States blames on Saudi exile Osama bin Laden and members of his radical Muslim al Qaeda network.
The government has not charged any of those held on immigration violations with taking part in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Of the 13 charged, five were from Egypt, three were from Pakistan, two were from Saudi Arabia and another person was a Saudi native who became a citizen of Yemen. The others were from Morocco and Tunisia.
Their names were blacked out for privacy reasons. Most of them were charged with overstaying their visas.
Of the 13, one entered the United States as far back as 1989, three entered in 1998, three in 2000 and the rest this year.
On Aug. 23, the Saudi entered the country in New York City, but did not posses valid immigration papers and misled the U.S Customs official about the amount of currency being brought into the country, according to the documents.
A Pakistani entered the country in New York state on Aug. 29 in violation of immigration law, according to the charges.
More than 5,700 people have been reported dead or missing and were feared dead in the Sept. 11 attacks involving four hijacked airliners. Two planes slammed into New York's World Trade Center, a third plane hit the Pentagon and a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers apparently struggled with the hijackers.
Suppose all Americans said on Monday, Dec. 8, 1941, “Oh! It’s Too Late!”
Get your ass in gear and help defend this country!