YPSILANTI, Mich. — A naturalized U.S. citizen could be stripped of his citizenship, after he allegedly supported a terrorist organization.
The Department of Justice filed suit Wednesday in the Eastern District of Michigan Federal court to revoke Abdul Jabbar Naji Shalabi's citizenship. The lawsuit claims Shalabi did not disclose a conviction in Israel for transporting bomb-making materials for Hamas.
The 39-year-old man immigrated to the U.S. in 1997, then left to study at Bir Zeit University, located in the West Bank. In 2002, he was arrested under suspicion of having acetone, a chemical commonly used to bombs. Shalabi pleaded guilty in an Israeli court in March of 2003, admitting to Providing Service to an Unlawful Association.
He served time in prison, was released, then returned to the U.S. and became a citizen in 2005.
“Any person who obtains American citizenship through lies is not entitled to the benefit of citizenship in our country, and this is especially true for people who support violent terrorist organizations such as Hamas,” said U.S. Attorney Schneider for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The FBI, along with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, handled the investigation.
