New Jersey Imam Facing Deportation

Mohammad Qatanani is one of the most prominent Muslim leaders in New Jersey and was singled out to lead the Legislature in the opening prayer back in 2005. Of course, his background is far more complicated than that. He's alleged to have lied on his Green Card application and faces deportation under federal law.

Qatanani, his wife and three children are facing deportation for his alleged failure to disclose on his green card application a 1993 arrest by Israeli authorities. Israeli military officials told the Associated Press he confessed to being a member of Hamas, a known terrorist organization. Qatanani denies the charge.

Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will begin presenting the case before an immigration judge in Newark on Thursday.

Qatanani's case will be decided by Judge Alberto J. Riefkohl of the Executive Office of Immigration Review, an administrative court system within the U.S. Department of Justice.

The hearing is expected to last three days. Riefkohl can issue an order of deportation or grant either legal permanent residency or a green card to the imam, his wife and three foreign-born children. The couple also have three children who are U.S. citizens.

First of all, note that the link to the Star Ledger's blog says the following: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/keep_the_imam_in_america.html What a way to maintain an objective stance on the story. Stay classy Star Ledger.

It's not that his arrest by Israel requires the deportation, but that he did not disclose the arrest on his Green Card application. By lying on his application, he committed a crime and should be deported under federal law. There's no excuse for this, especially since it's alleged that Qatanani tried to hide his ties to the terrorist group Hamas.