Judge: Omar Ameen, Iraqi Refugee Held On Murder Claims, Can Be Deported

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP/CBS13) — Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, an Iraqi exile initially accused of committing a sidesplitting for the Islamic State panic radical earlier coming to the U.S., is eligible to beryllium deported due to the fact that helium lied connected his migration papers, a national justice decided Tuesday.

Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas ruled that Ameen lied erstwhile helium was filling retired his exile exertion to summation introduction into the United States. Among different things, she recovered helium wasn’t being truthful erstwhile helium said helium had ne'er interacted with, knew oregon had engagement with assorted violent groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq.

READ MORE: Motorcyclist Killed In Natomas I-5 Collision Involving Big Rig

But she rejected different allegations, including that helium provided support, engaged successful violent activity, participated successful harming different person, oregon misrepresented that helium was a subordinate of specified a group.

Naselow-Nahas recovered that Ameen interacted with a relative “who is intelligibly a subordinate of an equipped violent group.” She besides recovered the authorities proved that helium lied erstwhile helium said his begetter had been fatally changeable and that his member had been kidnapped.

He should beryllium deported to Iraq, oregon if not determination to his past location of Turkey, the justice said, based connected the government’s recommendation.

Attorneys for Ameen accidental helium faces apt execution if helium is returned to Iraq. Another national justice successful Sacramento successful April refused to let his extradition. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund Brennan said that cellphone grounds shows Ameen was successful Turkey astatine the clip of the slaying successful 2014.

Ameen had been surviving successful an flat successful the Arden Arcade country erstwhile helium was detained.

Federal authorities person tried since 2018 to instrumentality Ameen to Iraq nether a pact with that nation, and helium was rapidly seized by migration authorities aft Brennan’s ruling. Ameen volition proceed to combat deportation, and helium volition question to beryllium released connected bond, said his lawyer, Siobhan Waldron.

READ MORE: Suspect In Custody After Double Homicide At Lodi Park

He tin present entity that helium faces excessively overmuch information to beryllium deported, adjacent though helium was recovered to beryllium eligible. He volition spell earlier Naselow-Nahas for a week of hearings acceptable for precocious January and aboriginal February, and if she rules against him tin question reappraisal by the Board of Immigration Appeals and past the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The combat is acold from over,” Waldron said. She contended that “this is each based connected unfounded rumors.”

FBI investigators testified implicit days of intermittent hearings scattered implicit respective months that Ameen told inconsistent stories nether questioning, and that adjacent household members besides person ties to violent groups. Ameen has argued helium felt nether duress during the interviews retired of fearfulness for his family.

Federal prosecutors said helium returned to Iraq that aforesaid period and killed a constabulary serviceman successful the municipality of Rawah aft it fell to the Islamic State group. Ameen arrived successful the United States 5 months aboriginal to beryllium resettled arsenic a exile successful the Sacramento, California, area.

The Iraqi authorities said Ameen was portion of a four-vehicle Islamic State caravan that opened occurrence connected the location of the Rawah constabulary officer. Iraqi documents said Ameen past fired a fatal changeable into Ihsan Abdulhafiz Jasim’s thorax arsenic helium laic connected the ground. Islamic State aboriginal claimed work for the slaying connected societal media.

The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Ameen kept his rank successful 2 violent groups concealed erstwhile helium applied for exile status, and again erstwhile helium aboriginal applied for a greenish card.

Ameen fled to Turkey successful 2012. He was granted presumption arsenic a exile successful the United States successful June 2014 connected the grounds that helium was a unfortunate of terrorism.

MORE NEWS: Lawsuit Claims Sacramento Sheriff's Office Illegally Transferred Immigrants To ICE

Brennan said successful April that cellphone records showed “Ameen was successful Turkey, not Iraq, connected the time of the murder.” The justice noted Ameen passed a prevarication detector trial and said helium had “serious doubt” connected the reliability of witnesses who placed Ameen successful Iraq astatine the clip of the killing.