Judges Rules 2 Iraqis Do Not Pose Threat

An immigration judge ruled Monday that two Iraqis accused of being “national security risks” do not pose a threat and may seek political asylum in the United States.

The two men--and six others who are the focus of a hearing at the INS processing center in San Pedro--were among 7,000 Iraqis flown to this country by U.S. officials after Saddam Hussein’s forces destroyed a resistance effort in northern Iraq.

The two men cleared by Judge D.D. Sitgraves’ written ruling Monday say they were members of CIA-backed resistance groups, but INS officials had contended they were security threats.

Much of the testimony in the hearing has come from the FBI and an unidentified agency behind closed doors. Lawyers for the Iraqi men have said opponents within the resistance groups lied to the government to slander their clients.

One man, a student and former soldier in the resistance forces, has a wife and four children already in the United States. The other, a former journalist, has a wife and seven children in the United States.

The two men must still apply for--and be granted--political asylum in the United States or face deportation to Iraq, where they believe they would be executed.