Judge agrees to grant asylum to ex-Israeli spy

[Valin]

AP:

ELLIOT SPAGAT (AP)
6/30/10

SAN DIEGO — The son of a Hamas founder who became a Christian and an Israeli spy will be granted U.S. asylum after he passes a routine background check, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.
Mosab Hassan Yousef got the news during a 15-minute deportation hearing after a U.S. Department of Homeland Security attorney said the government was dropping its objections.

The agency denied Yousef's asylum request in February 2009, arguing that he had been involved in terrorism and was a threat to the United States.
Attorney Kerri Calcador gave no explanation for the government's change of heart.
The immigration judge, Rico Bartolomei, ruled that Yousef will be allowed to remain in the United States after he is fingerprinted and passes a routine background check.

Yousef, who has been living in San Diego, was cheered by supporters as he left the hearing.
He said he loves living in California, wants to become a U.S. citizen and hopes to pursue a master's degree in history and geography.
"I will keep fighting the ideology that is behind terrorists because I know how they think," he said outside the courtroom.

(Snip)

[Valin]

Son Of Hamas

[Argyle58]

Its about time. The guy was looking at certain death if deported. It was predicted that he had a life expectancy of about 10 minutes from landing in Israel.

[Valin]

Son Of Hamas: Political Asylum Granted!

Mosab Hassan Yousef

7/1/10

 

Honestly, I am still in shock. I was sitting beside my attorney, focused on how I would answer the questions that were coming. Gonen ben Itzhak, my dear friend and former Shin Bet handler, had flown in from Israel to testify on my behalf and waited with a security guard in the empty courtroom next door.

 

Judge Rico Bartolomei was entering into the record all the documents and motions that had been introduced since my last hearing, getting everybody on the same page before we started.

That done, he called for Gonen.

 

That’s when DHS senior attorney Kerri Calcador dropped the bombshell. The Department of Homeland Security, she said, no longer opposes the asylum petition of Mosab Hassan Yousef.......(Snip)

 

As we drove home through San Diego, we thanked God for his grace and for all those he used to make this happen.

 

For countless people around the world who prayed for me.

 

For FOX News, which is a lot more than just a conservative voice. Over the past year and a half, I have come to know and respect the professionals at FOX who have become much more to me than reporters, producers and camera crews. They are good people who had the courage to cover a story that others rejected and/or did not understand. Special thanks to chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt.

 

For U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), who circulated a letter through the House of Representatives that was co-sponsored by 21 other congressmen, asking DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to give “full consideration . . . to Mr. Yousef’s views and conduct in recent years, particularly his cooperation with Shin Bet at significant risk to his own safety and life.” Signatories include Representatives Frank Wolf (VA), Trent Franks (AZ), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Bill Posey (FL), Kenny Marchant (TX), John Kline (MN), John Shadegg (AZ), Joe Wilson (SC), Daniel Lungren (CA), John Boozman (AK), Michele Bachmann (MN), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Bill Shuster (PA), Joseph Pitts (PA), Lynn Jenkins (KS), Rob Bishop (UT), Jeff Fortenberry (NE), Dan Rohrabacher (CA), Robert Aderholt (AL), Mike Pence (IN) and Aaron Schock (IL).

 

For Tzachi Hanegbi, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of The Knesset (Israeli Parliament), MK Einat Wilf and other committee members for their very kind letter thanking me for my “actions to strengthen the security of Israeli citizens and Palestinian residents from 1998 to 2007.”

 

For the wisdom and integrity of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano......(Snip)