WASHINGTON, March 19: U.S. officials on Wednesday said the government will detain new asylum seekers who arrive in the United States from 33 nations viewed as having connections to al Qaeda or other militant activities.

In clarifying the policy which was announced with few details earlier this week, officials said they would not detain asylum seekers already living in the United States.

That calmed fears of mass arrests but did not stem rights groups’ criticism of the move.

The detentions, implemented as part of a series of tough security measures sparked by the looming war with Iraq, affect people from about 33 countries who have arrived at borders and other entry points since Tuesday to request asylum.

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday it was implementing a series of measures, including the temporary detention of certain asylum seekers, as part of its heightened security status.

Bill Strassberger, spokesman for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, said people who will be detained are those from the targeted countries who arrive at “points of entry” like borders and airports and request asylum.

Normally when a person arrives in the United States, either illegally or with a valid visa, and requests asylum they would go through a process to determine whether they face a “credible fear” of persecution in their home country.—Reuters