U.S. District Court Judge Staci M. Yandle ordered the revocation of U.S. citizenship of convicted terrorist, Lyman Faris.
Faris, a native of Pakistan, was convicted in 2003 of providing material support to al Qaeda and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He is facing deportation from the United States after he is released from prison, according to authorities.
In 2002, Faris evaluated the practicality of a plot to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge in New York using gas cutters, communicating his assessment to al Qaeda via coded messages.
Faris is currently serving his sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois. He is could be released in August 2020. Faris is no longer a U.S. citizen and may be subjected to removal proceedings, according to officials.
In revoking his U.S. citizenship, the judge found that Faris was ineligible for naturalization and unlawfully procured his citizenship through willful misrepresentation of facts.
“A top priority at the Department of Justice is protecting our national security, and one of the things we do in support of that goal is tirelessly pursue denaturalization of known and suspected terrorists,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “What Faris did is unconscionable – he pretended to support the United States and the Constitution to naturalize while he actively supported Usama bin Laden and senior al Qaeda leadership in their plans to attack the United States.”
Adding, “The denaturalization of Faris and of others who similarly defraud the United States helps defend the integrity of the immigration system, promote the rule of law, and make America safer.”
“Iyman Faris is a traitor to the oath he took renouncing foreign allegiances and pledging to defend the Constitution and our American way of life. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing who took advantage of American generosity with plans to terrorize and murder. He does not deserve the honor of being an American citizen,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “Becoming a naturalized citizen is a privilege. The process must be guarded for the safety of our nation and to protect and recognize the sacrifices, determination, and honor of those who earn that privilege honestly.”
Faris, 50, was convicted in 2003 in Virginia of providing, and conspiring to provide, material support to al Qaeda, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
In 2000, Faris traveled to Afghanistan where he met Usama bin Laden and other high-ranking members of al Qaeda at an al Qaeda training camp, researched information about ultralight airplanes for a senior al Qaeda leader, and arranged for airline tickets to be issued to al Qaeda operatives.
The court found that Faris was ineligible for naturalization based on his lies to immigration officers while under oath and his fraudulent entry into the United States in 1994 by using another person’s passport and visa, officials stated.