New York: Over 13,000 Muslims, many of them Pakistanis, found to be living illegally in the United States are expected to be deported during the special US immigration registration process.

In December 2002, the US immigration department directed young men, mostly from 25 Muslim nations, to register in the hope of keeping track of recent arrivals from countries linked to terrorism, says 'Dawn'.

The last deadline was April 2003 for males over 16 from Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Similar deadlines had passed for males from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan and many other countries.

A total of 1,44,513 immigrants registered nationwide, according to the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Enforcement, formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Of those, 13,434 have had deportation proceedings started against them.

The agency said 2,783 were detained, with 99 remaining in custody as of June 1, the most recent statistics available. Many Pakistanis, who were unable to adjust their immigration status in the United States have either fled to Canada or European nations seeking political asylum, many have returned home.

Although US authorities had held out an assurance that the process would be fair and transparent, most of the people fearing deportation left the United States after living here for more than 10 years.

Even immigrants married to the American citizens, who were unable to adjust their status before registration would be subject to deportation. Immigration lawyers and advocates complain that the registration programme amounts to racial profiling.

A spokesman for the newly-established Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Enforcement Service (BCIS), under the Homeland security office said, "We need to know who's coming in, are they leaving, and what they do while they're here".

"In a post-9/11 world, we need to develop a system to track entrances and exits. Lets start with the higher-risk visitors, those who come from nations where al-Qaida is known to exist," he said.

ANI