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| Judge agrees to grant asylum to ex-Israeli spy/Son of Hamas founder |
| 2010-06-30 |
| A good move - he's welcome here in San Diego The son of a Hamas founder who became a Christian and an Israeli spy will be granted U.S. asylum after he passes a routine background check, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday. Mosab Hassan Yousef got the news during a 15-minute deportation hearing after a U.S. Department of Homeland Security attorney said the government was dropping its objections. The agency denied Yousef's asylum request in February 2009, arguing that he had been involved in terrorism and was a threat to the United States. Attorney Kerri Calcador gave no explanation for the government's change of heart. The immigration judge, Rico Bartolomei, ruled that Yousef will be allowed to remain in the United States after he is fingerprinted and passes a routine background check. Yousef, who has been living in San Diego, was cheered by supporters as he left the hearing. He said he loves living in California, wants to become a U.S. citizen and hopes to pursue a master's degree in history and geography. "I will keep fighting the ideology that is behind terrorists because I know how they think," he said outside the courtroom. Yousef, 32, said he could not explain the government's abrupt decision, but said authorities may have had second thoughts after reviewing his case more closely. "For 10 years, he fought terrorism in secret, hiding what he was doing and who he was," his attorney, Steven Seick, wrote in a court filing. "He deserves a safe place away from violence and fear." Yousef had argued that he would be killed if he was deported because he spied on the militant group for Israel's Shin Bet security's intelligence agency and abandoned Islam. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #2 I hope they don't give out his address now, kind of accidentally-like. |
| Posted by: Goober Goobelopolous 2010-06-30 17:07 |
| #1 Gotta wonder if the deportation was ordered by a high government official named Mohammed or even Hussein. Probably didn't figure on the publicity shit storm. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-06-30 15:18 |