Nephew of Pakistani president arrested
Tourist visa expired in 1994
From Kevin Bohn
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The nephew of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was arrested in the United States on February 19 on a charge of having an expired visa, a spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told CNN.
He was released Friday but could be deported after a hearing before an immigration judge, the spokesman said.
The nephew, Amir Javed Musharraf, registered with immigration authorities February 19 as part of a Justice Department program requiring men from 25 countries, including Pakistan, to be interviewed and fingerprinted.
Musharraf, who was living in Memphis, Tennessee, had been in the United States since 1994, the spokesman said. His tourist visa expired in 1994.
The registration program, called The National Security Entry Exit System, has garnered criticism. Several hundred people living in the United States have been arrested after reporting to immigration authorities.
Civil rights groups have criticized the initiative for mainly targeting Arab and Muslim men, but immigration officials have said it is needed to help the government keep track of who is in the country from nations where anti-American opinions are popular.
The programs was being administered by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was absorbed by the Department of Homeland Security on February 28.
