Judge reschedules sentencing date for Somali woman who sent funds to terror group, lied about it

This is a story from last week, so you may have seen it elsewhere, but even late it is worth posting because it contains a few bits of useful information.  (My apologies to the reader who sent this—I’ve lost track of who it was!)

Judge Davis wants to know if she would be deported after completing her sentence.
http://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/MDL-Baycol/judge-michael-davis.shtml

Before he sentences her for perjury, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in the slammer, Chief District Judge Michael Davis wants to know if she would likely be deported upon her release from prison.

We do deport to Somalia now.

We first told you about this case, here in August 2013.

From the Pioneer Press:

A woman who admitted she lied for the terrorist group al-Shabaab will have to wait until April to learn her punishment.

Saynab Abdirashid Hussein, a former Minneapolis woman studying nursing in Tennessee, was to be sentenced Tuesday in federal court on a count of perjury. But midway through the hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis put off handing down a sentence.

The reason: He wants her lawyers and prosecutors to provide legal briefs explaining whether they think the conviction and sentence will result in her deportation.

Her new sentencing date is April 29.

Prosecutors are seeking a minimum sentence of two years, anything over one year could get her deported says expert:

Hussein was born in Somalia and was a year old when her parents fled the country. They spent nine years in a Kenyan refugee camp before they were allowed entry into the U.S.

After the hearing, prosecutors didn’t say what their position would be regarding deportation, and defense attorneys declined comment. Neither would comment on what her immigration status is, but court documents suggest she is a lawful permanent resident.

Ruslan Bocancea, a Minneapolis lawyer specializing in immigration law, said that because Hussein pleaded guilty to an aggravated felony involving honesty — in which prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least two years — the woman could be deported.

“When there’s an element of fraud involved, like lying, Immigration is not forgiving at all,” Bocancea said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Once your sentence is one year or higher, the government can deport you, assuming you are a permanent resident.”

One way to keep from being deported is to marry a US citizen!

A permanent resident facing deportation can ask to stay, and among the reasons they can cite is that they are married to a U.S. citizen, Bocancea said. Hussein got married this month, but neither side said whether the groom, who was in court, is a citizen.

[….]

Hussein was the 19th person, and only female, charged in “Operation Rhino,” the FBI’s investigation into al-Shabaab’s alleged recruitment of fighters from the Twin Cities, home to this country’s largest Somali population.

There is more, read it all.

For new readers, we began following the story of the Somali missing “youths” here in 2008.

Catholic Patriarch: Don’t move all Christians out of Syria to the West!

Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham
http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2013/09/melkite-leader-says-attacks-on-syria.html

Expressed misgivings about refugee resettlement of Christians from throughout the Middle East to the West.

From Catholic Culture:

Syria’s leading Catholic prelate has voiced misgivings about refugee programs that are helping Christian families from Syria resettle in the West, saying that it is better if they remain in the Middle East.

Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham, who doubles as president of the Syrian bishops’ conference, said that the flight of Syrian refugees threatens to aggravate the overall exodus of Christians from the Middle East. “The danger is that if they leave the Middle East, they will never go back,” he said.

The Melkite Patriarch said that he could readily sympathize with the Christians who choose to leave the region. “Of course, we cannot decide for ourselves what response our people should make,” he acknowledged, adding that “the suffering is great.”

However, Patriarch Gregory suggested that aid programs should concentrate on helping people to remain near their homes. “It is better to help the people within the country or the region, and not invite them to go outside,” he said. “There is more that can be done locally,” he said.

Agreed!  But, unfortunately then the US refugee resettlement contractors who are being paid by the head and doing the UN’s business will be happy to bring more Muslims to America and that includes among them the US Conference of Catholic Bishops!

Addendum: Check out this useful world map of countries where Christians are being persecuted.

Comment worth noting: Reader reports on Minneapolis Somali fire

Explosion/fire in Little Mogadishu (Minneapolis) on New Years Day 2014

I asked in a comment yesterday to our Brooklyn arson post if anyone knew what was happening with the Minneapolis Somali explosion/fire investigation.

Reader ‘Jewel’ sent us a recap from last week at Gates of Vienna where blogger Baron Bodissey said the following in response to reports that the fire was still “under investigation”:

I’ve been following the news of this incident since shortly after the explosion, and I’m forced to conclude that some or all of the following crimes were committed, and are still being committed. There may be others; I’m not a legal expert:

Official malfeasance
Dereliction of duty
Obstruction of justice
Destruction of evidence
Misprision of multiple felonies
Conspiracy

It’s hard to determine who might be guilty of these offenses, but the list of suspects moves beyond Minneapolis city officials and up into the rarefied region inhabited by agencies of the federal government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

These crimes were committed regardless of what caused the explosion. Even if the cause of the fire was a natural gas leak, or a malfunctioning propane heater, or an exploding can of deodorant, justice was obstructed and evidence was destroyed. There was a blatant attempt to deflect any meaningful investigation of what did cause the explosion, and the destruction of the relevant evidence ensures that the cause of the fire will never be determined with any certainty.

Bodissey’s must-read post is fittingly titled, “Ember Days”.

All of our previous coverage is here.  Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis?  Go here.  Thank the US State Department and its Catholic, Lutheran and Evangelical (World Relief) resettlement contractors.

Henceforth I think I will be looking on any fire involving Middle Easterners or African Muslims as suspicious.

Brooklyn culture clash and settling scores the Middle Eastern way with arson

A Syrian immigrant has been arrested and charged with arson (the poor man’s WMD), accused of hiring a thug (a dumb thug!) to get even with neighbors who complained about his buses clogging their gentrifying neighborhood.

Just another of those hardworking immigrant ‘entrepreneurs’ for our multi-culty neighborhoods “Abdul” Mouna.

Since Syrians are so much in the news, reader ‘pungentpeppers’ sent along yet another immigrant entrepreneur crime story.

As usual, there is no mention of how, through what legal immigration loophole, Syrian immigrant, Abderraham “Abdul” Mouna, came to be running a bus business in New York.  Was he an asylee, did he come through one of our many investor visa programs, did a relative get him in?  Those are the sorts of questions mainstream reporters never seem to ask.

We are still looking for someone to create one internet site to gather all of the immigrant crime stories that come our way—until then we will post some crime stories here.   LOL! we like to provide balance to the usually mushy immigrant stories the mainstream media feeds us—you know like the immigrant-sees-first-snow stories!

From DNAinfo:

GOWANUS — A long-simmering dispute over idling buses on a quiet Gowanus block sparked a conflict that led to arson, authorities say.

The FDNY this week announced the arrests of Abderraham “Abdul” Mouna and Jose “Pancho” Andujar in connection with a May 8, 2013, arson.

Fire Marshal investigators say the two men conspired to set the blaze to retaliate against neighbors who complained that Mouna’s charter bus company left coaches idling for hours and parked illegally on the street. The target of the arson was a business owned by one of the people who complained.

[…..]

The building owner did not want to comment this week for fear of retaliation, but according to a criminal complaint filed with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, a rock was tossed through a plate glass window on the building’s first floor, then liquid accelerant was squeezed through the hole, followed by a book of matches and a lit cigarette.

The fire quickly went out, leaving only a scorched floor and no injuries, but locals were shocked.

They immediately suspected Mouna, neighbors told DNAinfo. He had been running his charter bus company on the block since about 2006 and had clashed with neighbors for years, said locals, who didn’t want to be named.

At first, the 53-year-old Syrian immigrant seemed to be a hardworking small business owner struggling to get by, residents said.

But, then things started to go wrong!  Read it all!

I have to laugh a little.  I’m betting many in this Brooklyn neighborhood are the kind of folks who would speak eloquently about how diversity is beautiful, just not in this case and in their neighborhood!

More on settling scores the Middle Eastern way! See what else multiculturalism has brought to Brooklyn by clicking here.

Nevada: Chinese “refugee” going to prison for casino scam

The headline of the AP piece from CBS Las Vegas, calls her a “refugee” but it’s not clear if she was actually granted asylum.  Hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers.’

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Chinese woman who says she sought asylum in the U.S. after taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 was sentenced in Las Vegas to nearly four years in federal prison for her role in a multi-million dollar casino baccarat fraud scheme.

Irene Li’s lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender William Carrico, said Thursday he’s virtually certain his 53-year-old client will be deported to China after her 47 months in prison.

Li pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a plea deal that had other charges against her dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon also ordered Li on Wednesday to repay $2.2 million in damages to five Las Vegas casinos.

Officials say Li’s husband remains a fugitive in the case.

A more detailed story about the case is here.

Chinese make up the largest percentage of asylum seekers granted permission to stay in the US

Go to Table 6, page 6 of the Department of Homeland Securities 2012 Annual Flow Report.  Here are the stats for Chinese given refugee status (after arriving in the US on their own either illegally or as visa overstays).

2010:  6,693 Chinese granted asylum (31% of the total)

2011:  8,585 (34%)

2012:  10,151 (34%)

Astounding!

By the way, a large number of Chinese men are being granted asylum because they tell immigration judges they want to have more than one child and that is grounds for admission!  Once asylum is granted, the asylee can access all of the welfare programs open to refugees.  See our fact sheet.