The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit on July 3 to revoke the naturalized U.S. citizenship of an Indian national convicted of providing material support to ISIS and traveling abroad with intent to murder or maim U.S. service members.
Khaleel Ahmed, 37, pleaded guilty to the charges in 2009, admitting that he and his cousin traveled to Cairo with intent to harm service members. They also discussed carrying out attacks at home and distributed information on military tactics, weapons, and counter-surveillance techniques.
“The United States will use every available law enforcement tool to combat terrorism,” Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio said. “Those who are naturalized in the United States 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. We will continue to zealously seek out and prosecute individuals like Mr. Ahmed.”
The denaturalization complaint alleges that Ahmed concealed information during the naturalization process and his application would have been denied if that information had come to light.
“The United States will never be a safe haven for those seeking to support terrorists,” said James Gibbons, special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago division, said. “When individuals lie to obtain immigration benefits, the system is severely undermined and the security of our nation is put at risk.”