Justice Department Gets Convicted Terrorist Denaturalized

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has secured the denaturalization of a convicted terrorist who sought to help al Qaeda destroy the Brooklyn Bridge in 2003. Iyman Faris, a native of Pakistan, was convicted in 2003 of providing material support to al Qaeda and sentenced to 20 years in prison. On Monday, a District Court judge ordered the revocation of Faris’s naturalized U.S. citizenship.

According to the DOJ release, Faris “evaluated the practicality of a plot to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge in New York using gas cutters, communicating his assessment to al Qaeda via coded messages.” Faris also traveled to Afghanistan to meet Usama bin Laden and other high ranking al Qaeda members at an al Qaeda training camp.

In 2000, Faris also researched information about ultralight airplanes for a senior leader of the terrorist organization and arranged for airline tickers to be issued to al Qaeda operatives. Faris was convicted in 2003 and is currently serving his criminal sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois, with a projected release date in August 2020.

In its February 3 order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois granted the government’s motion for summary judgment revoking Faris’s U.S. citizenship.

The court found that Faris’s admitted affiliation with al Qaeda within five years after naturalizing established that he was not attached to the principles of the Constitution and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States at the time he naturalized in 1999. The court also found that Faris was ineligible for naturalization based on his lies to immigration officers while under oath and his fraudulent entry into the United States in 1994 by using another person’s passport and visa.

“Iyman Faris is a traitor to the oath he took renouncing foreign allegiances and pledging to defend the Constitution and our American way of life. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing who took advantage of American generosity with plans to terrorize and murder. He does not deserve the honor of being an American citizen,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “Becoming a naturalized citizen is a privilege. The process must be guarded for the safety of our nation and to protect and recognize the sacrifices, determination, and honor of those who earn that privilege honestly.”

Since Faris is no longer a U.S. citizen, he may be subject to removal proceedings upon completion of his criminal sentence.