LOS ANGELES, Dec 28: A group two influential United States senators and a congressman on Friday lodged a strong protest with the justice department against the highhandedness during the special registration process for foreigners.

“We write to urge you to suspend further implementation of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) by the US department of justice’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) until congress and the department conduct a complete and thorough review of this programme. We have grave doubts about whether the INS’s implementation of the NSEERS has struck the proper balance between securing our borders on the one hand and respecting the civil liberties of foreign students, businesspeople, and visitors who have come to our nation legally on the other,” said a letter signed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Senator Russell D. Feingold and Congressman John Conyers, junior.

The representatives were also critical of the second phase of special registration, in which Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had been included and which will continue from Jan 13 to Feb 21.

Reports indicate that hundreds of individuals who have voluntarily appeared to register at the INS offices, primarily in California, have been detained without reasonable justification.

According to news reports, many of those detained have applications pending for adjustment of status on which the INS has not yet acted.

According to a news report, a 16-year-old boy who entered the country lawfully on a student visa was separated from his pregnant mother, even though he is seeking permanent residence to be able to join his mother.

In another case, a Jewish businessman, who had fled Iran, was jailed even though he has had an application for permanent residency pending with the INS for five years.

“We are also concerned by reports that detainees have been denied access to counsel and are being held in deplorable conditions, including being deprived of food for more than 24 hours and being forced to sleep on cold floors,” the representatives said.