The raids were part of a national police sting operation named "Operation Green Quest" that has targeted the Detroit area and Toledo, Ohio, among other cities. Police say that since October 2001 they have made 61 arrests, brought 43 indictments, and seized more than $8 million, in addition to $22 million in "monetary instruments" such as checks.

One of the ways the U.S. government has rounded up individuals it has associated with "terrorism" has been through accusations of money laundering, using provisions in the 2001 USA Patriot Act that give police wider powers to make arrests on such a basis.

Some 60 cops, including from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, have carried out the raids here, confiscating records, computers, and cell phones, as well as $200,000 from five bank accounts.

Federal prosecutors claim those arrested had illegally transferred money to Yemen, stopping short of charging that the transfers were connected with "terrorism." But sensational media reports and statements by government officials insinuate vague connections between the money and "terrorist" activity. "We don’t know if some of the money transferred, all or any of the money was used to fund terrorism. We don’t know and that’s the problem," said Richard Hoglund, a special agent for the Customs’ Office of Investigations.

A restaurant, gas station, dollar store, and a delivery agency were among the businesses raided, as well as some residences. The December 19 Detroit News printed a map showing the locations and addresses of the raids. The names of those arrested were highlighted and accompanied photos of the raids.

The USA Patriot Act, passed in October 2001 after Washington sharply stepped up its war drive, requires money transfer agencies to register with the U.S. Treasury Department. In that context, U.S. Customs officials have argued that hawala, a centuries-old practice based on trust that is used among individuals in many Middle Eastern countries to exchange money, is suspect. Government officials say they are justified in carrying out their "money laundering" raids because no banking documentation is created and no money crosses international borders in hawala arrangements.

"Without records, we can’t know if the money is going to legitimate purposes or if it is going to fund terrorism," Hoglund asserted. "It’s not by accident that we’re looking at Yemen." Workers of Yemeni origin, who started settling in this area a century ago, are concentrated in a working-class district around Ford Motor Co.’s huge River Rouge auto manufacturing complex, where many of them have found employment at different times. The district straddles Detroit and the neighboring suburb of Dearborn, which has a large Arab-American population. Like workers born in other countries such as Mexico, immigrants from Yemen regularly send remittances to families in Yemen who depend on the financial support.

Many workers of Yemeni origin here sharply criticized the police raids over the money transfers. "That this has anything to do with terrorism is a complete lie," said a young worker at a meatpacking plant here. "We take care of our families--the money is for them to be able to make it. Yemen is a very poor country."

"What is the connection of Yemeni immigrants working at the Ford Motor Co., the Rouge plant, to al-Qaeda?" attorney Ali Dagher told the Detroit News, challenging the assertions of ties to "terrorism." He criticized "the government’s scorched-earth policy to harass people in abject poverty who are trying to send a few dollars home to their families."  
 
 
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