Palestinian Wins Ruling in Fight to Stay in U.S.

A Palestinian man whom the U.S. government has been trying to deport for nearly 20 years for allegedly supporting a terrorist group moved a step closer to U.S. citizenship Thursday when a federal judge granted his petition for that status.

Aiad Khaled Barakat, 45, a construction company supervisor and father of three who lives in Arcadia, spent the week in court contesting allegations that, if proved, would have allowed his deportation on grounds that he did not show good moral character -- a requirement for U.S. citizenship.

Barakat, who has permanent resident status, was accused of lying about his associations with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group the U.S. government suspects of terrorist activities. His court battle is part of a two-decade legal fight the government has waged against him, six other Palestinian men and the Kenyan wife of one of the men -- all part of a group known as the “L.A. 8.”

None of the eight has ever been accused of being a terrorist or charged with committing a crime. But the government has been trying to deport them because of their associations with the Popular Front and other causes that promoted Palestinian statehood.

Barakat’s attorneys said the government is running out of options if it still wants to deport him. Federal officials have 60 days to appeal U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson’s ruling, said Ahilan Arulanantham, a staff attorney for the ACLU.

“Once he’s a citizen he cannot be deported, so their only option now is to appeal,” Arulanantham said. “And it’s extremely, very, very unlikely that they’ll appeal.”

Marc Van Der Hout, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild who represents some L.A. 8 members, said officials could try to retroactively deport Barakat using a provision in the Patriot Act. “But if they did, it would violate Judge Wilson’s orders and I don’t think they’re going to try to do that,” Van Der Hout said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice did not return calls seeking comment.

If his petition for citizenship goes unchallenged, Barakat would become the first of the eight to become a citizen. Another, Basher Amer, has returned to Bethlehem in the West Bank, near Israel.

Two central figures of the original L.A. 8 -- Michel Ibrahim Shehadeh and Khader Musa Hamide -- have green cards but are facing deportation in Immigration Court over allegations that they financially supported terrorists by distributing a Palestinian magazine.

Their cases were delayed last summer, with no indication of when they will be heard, Van Der Hout said. “The only thing we’re accused of is practicing free speech and practicing our 1st Amendment rights,” Hamide said. “We’re guilty by association. We’re Palestinians; that’s the first association, and we’ve expressed views that we’re pro-Palestinian; that’s the second.”

Hamide’s Kenyan wife, Julie Mungai, is a permanent resident, as are Naim Sharif and Amjad Obeid, Barakat’s attorneys said.

Obeid’s brother, Ayman, the final member of the group, is still waiting for word on his application for permanent residency. He remains in the country on a work permit and works as a banker.

Barakat told Judge Wilson this week it was imperative that he get citizenship soon so he could visit his ailing mother, who will turn 79 next month, and then return to the U.S., where his children were born and raised.

“The dream is right here,” Barakat said outside the courtroom. “I’m going to see my mom.”