Washington ? FBI agents are expanding their search for a group of foreign-born men they believe may have crossed into the United States illegally from Canada in a false ID case that has heightened terrorism fears around the New Year’s holiday, government officials said Tuesday night.

The officials, some of whom work in law enforcement, told The Associated Press the government has identified several more men it fears may have used fake passports to get into the country around Christmas Eve.

Authorities identified five such men on Sunday and asked the public’s help in identifying them.

The FBI and Homeland Security officials are considering making the names and photos of about a half dozen more men public as early as today, the officials said, speaking only on condition of anonymity.

Officials cautioned they have no specific evidence the men are involved in a terrorist plot, but said the men may have connections to a fake ID and smuggling ring that involves some people with terrorist connections. Much of the search effort has focused on New York City.

Because intelligence indicated several men were trying to use fake passports to get into the United States before New Year’s Day — a holiday of symbolic significance to Islamic terrorists — U.S. officials were making aggressive efforts to track them down and make sure they posed no threats. Several of the men have names or passports from countries with large terrorist presences, further heightening concern, the officials said.

The additional names expected to be made public today have come from the same Canadian intelligence sources that identified the five men whose identities were released over the weekend, the officials said.

The expanding search came as federal authorities received unsubstantiated information that terrorists could launch a maritime attack on New York City, a threat taken seriously because of the large crowds that gather in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

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Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for Homeland Security, said the government was reacting similarly to July 4, when security was increased mainly because of the crowds rather than information from specific threats.

There are no plans to raise the nation’s threat level above yellow, the middle of a five-tiered color-coded rating system, Johndroe said.

The Toronto Sun, quoting police sources in Canada, said the men arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport about two weeks ago, claiming refugee status. They stayed in the Toronto area for several days before being smuggled into the United States by car.