The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday that would rescind the naturalized U.S. citizenship of a Chicago man who pleaded guilty and was convicted of supplying material support to terrorists.
Khaleel Ahmed, originally from India, pleaded guilty in 2009 for providing material support to terrorists and for traveling overseas in pursuit of murdering or harming U.S. military forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Ahmed, along with his cousin Zubair Ahmed, traveled to Cairo, Egypt, with plans to participate in activity that would kill or hurt U.S. military forces. After returning from Cairo, the men became knowledgeable with operating firearms and counter-surveillance techniques. Likewise, they gathered and distributed videos of violence on U.S. military forces abroad and guides on military strategies and weaponry.
The activity of Ahmed and his cousin first started while he was a permanent resident in the U.S. However, he was arrested after he had obtained his naturalized U.S. citizenship and the civil denaturalization complaint claims that Ahmed was intentionally deceptive and hid his criminal behavior during his naturalization proceedings.
“The [U.S.] will use every available law enforcement tool to combat terrorism,” Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio said in a statement. “Those who are naturalized in the [U.S.] swear to support and defend our Constitution and laws against all enemies. Those who have actively supported terrorism and concealed that fact cannot take that oath in good faith and should not have the benefit of continued citizenship.”
“Civil denaturalization is thus one important tool in our anti-terrorism efforts,” he added. “We will continue to zealously seek out and prosecute individuals like Mr. Ahmed.”
Ahmed was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison in 2010. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation and the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation has been probing the case.
“The [U.S.] will never be a safe haven for those seeking to support terrorists,” Special Agent in Charge James Gibbons of Homeland Security Investigations Chicago said in a statement. “When individuals lie to obtain immigration benefits, the system is severely undermined and the security of our nation is at risk.
