Police and FBI agents from Western Michigan say they had no problems completing interviews with people of Middle Eastern descent.

About 40 men from Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties were interviewed as part of the Department of Justice’s plan to seek information about the terrorist organization, al-Qaida. The department had plans to interview about 5,000 visitors to the United States from 24 Middle Eastern and other countries.

The Lansing Police Department participated in the interviewing process. The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety chose not to interview men on campus.

People in the western district were approached by a police officer or agent knocking on their doors and for an informal meeting. The eastern part of the state sent more than 500 letters requesting a time, date and place to meet for an interview.

Area police said the “knock and talk” method was a huge success in the Lansing area.

More than 20 of the men interviewed in western Michigan were associated with MSU.

Lloyd Meyer, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the interviews in western Michigan, which were finished at the end of December, exceeded the department’s expectations. Meyer said every interviewee was very helpful.

“In just 14 days we had located and interviewed 97 percent of the men on our list,” he said. “Every interviewee condemned the attacks on America and offered all the help they could to prevent another attack.”

Meyer said success of the Lansing area’s interviews has prompted other agencies to use a similar process.

“The main reason for this success rate is because the most seasoned and experienced officers were the ones who knock on the doors and treated interviewees with respect,” he said.

Although Meyer said no one was upset, some students were not happy with the interviewing process.

Salman Ateequi, vice president of the Muslim Students’ Association, said he didn’t think it was reasonable for the police to single out men of Middle Eastern descent.

“This is a clear case of racial profiling,” the finance sophomore said. “If they are going to start interviewing people they should interview people of all backgrounds.”

But Richard Licht, a Lansing FBI resident supervisor, said the interviews helped to teach about the Middle Eastern community.

“We got to meet people we don’t usually encounter, and it gave us insight into another ethnic community,” he said.