WASHINGTON, April 25: Illegal immigrants may be detained indefinitely if authorities consider them a threat to US national security, Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a legal opinion made public on Friday.

The decision, dated April 17, comes in the case of 18-year-old David Joseph, who was among more than 200 Haitians who came ashore October 29 in the southeastern state of Florida.

“The denial of the respondent’s release on bond does not violate international law,” Ashcroft wrote.—AFP