A federal judge has turned down a Justice Department motion to denaturalize a man convicted for providing material support for terrorism, Politico reported.
Iyman Faris, a Pakistani-born truck driver, was sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for involvement in an al-Qaida plot to cut cables on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. He admitted 15 years ago to his involvement, according to Politico.
The judge's order did not definitely end the denaturalization case, which was filed in March 2017 as part of a larger move from the Trump administration to take away citizenship from those deemed to have gotten it under false presenses, the website reported.
Government lawyers had said Faris became naturalized in 1999 because of acts of fraud or misrepresentation, including using someone else's passport.
However, U.S. District Court Judge Staci Yandle said that the government had not yet established that those actions impacted the approval of his U.S. citizenship.
Thomas Durkin, a lawyer for Faris, said that the effort to remove Faris' naturalization is breaking a promise made to him when he pleaded guilty in 2003.
"We think it's a mean-spirited attempt at further punishment and violates his original plea agreement with the government," Durkin said, Politico reported.
The Justice Department filed the civil suit in March 2017, according to The Washington Times.
Faris had previously admitted to traveling to Pakistan and Afghanistan in late 2000 to meet with Osama bin Laden and other senior al-Qaida leaders, the Times noted.
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