Inside ICE: Volume 2, Issue 17

Judge Orders Imam Linked to Al Qaeda Held

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — After hearing dramatic testimony tying the former imam of the Lodi, Calif., mosque to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, an immigration judge on August 9 ruled that the man poses both a threat to society and a flight risk.

Following a nearly four-hour custody proceeding, Immigration Judge Anthony Murry ordered that Shabbir Ahmed, 39, continue to be held by ICE without bond.

As part of the hearing, ICE attorneys presented a diagram showing the relationship between Ahmed and several other Lodi-area men who have been taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigation. One of those individuals, Imam Mohammad Adil Khan, who was arrested on immigration violations, recently agreed to be removed to Pakistan. Two other men, Umer Hayat, and his son, Hamid Hayat, have been indicted on criminal charges in connection with the case.

According to testimony offered by an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hamid Hayat went to an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan where he was schooled on how to commit violent acts targeting Americans and American institutions. Upon returning to the United States, the FBI agent explained, the younger Hayat was to await orders for his mission. The orders were to be relayed through Ahmed.

“We believe the evidence ICE presented today clearly shows that this individual is a danger to the safety of our country,” said San Francisco ICE Chief Counsel Ronald E. Le Fevre. “We are pleased that the immigration judge has ordered that he continue to be detained without bond.”

According to ICE attorneys, Ahmed’s long-term goal was to establish a madrassah, a religious school, in Lodi similar to the madrassah in Pakistan where he and Mohammad Adil Khan previously worked. Evidence presented at the proceeding showed that this madrassah has been used to recruit individuals to engage in jihad.

ICE agents arrested Ahmed June 6 for violating the terms of his visa. The August 9 proceeding was a continuation of an earlier custody hearing held June 24, where Ahmed admitted making anti-American speeches. He is due to return to immigration court October 25 for a hearing on the merits of his case.

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Inside ICE is an e-newsletter produced by the ICE Office of Public Affairs to inform the public about the mission, operations and activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Please send comments and contributions to Russ Bergeron, Editor.

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