Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Following Prison Sentence, Florida Terrorist of Arab Origin to Be Deported
Error: Contact form not found.
by Steven Emerson
An FBI raid. Photo: ITB.
His prison sentence complete, a Pakistani man who plotted a series of prospective terrorist attacks in South Florida has been moved from a Federal penitentiary to the custody of U.S. immigration officials pending deportation from the United States.
Imran Mandhai lived in Broward County, Florida, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. He attended the Darul Uloom Institute mosque in Pembroke Pines, the same mosque where al-Qaeda notable and Mandhai associate Adnan el-Shukrijumah sought spiritual solace. Mandhai and codefendant Shueyb Mosaa Jokhan were investigated by the Miami Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
The two men conspired to commit jihad in South Florida by blowing up power stations, synagogues, and a National Guard armory. The JTTF introduced an undercover informant to the two wannabe jihadis and foiled their plans.
Mandhai initially was arrested by special agents of what was then the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) assigned to the JTTF in February of 2002 on terrorism-related deportation charges. Subsequently, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami indicted Mandhai and Jokhan and the two ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to destroy property affecting interstate commerce. Mandhai was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The court further ordered that Mandhai would be surrendered to Federal immigration authorities upon completion of his prison sentence.
That happened last week, when Mandhai completed his term of incarceration with the Bureau of Prisons and was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for removal (deportation) proceedings. A spokeswoman for ICE confirmed Mandhai’s custody status with the agency with the following statement, “Imran Farooq Mandhai was transferred to ICE custody March 9, 2015 from the Bureau of Prisons after completing his federal prison sentence. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
As an alien convicted of a Federal terrorism-related felony, Mandhai is subject to mandatory detention during those removal proceedings and likely would be ineligible for any form of relief from deportation, said Dan Vara, the former Chief Counsel for INS and ICE in Miami and Orlando who prosecuted Mandhai in the initial deportation case in 2002.
Steven Emerson is the Executive Director the Investigative Project on Terrorism (www.investigativeproject.org) where this article first appeared.
