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INS starts process to deport cadet
Thursday, November 8, 2001
BY BRIAN HICKS
Of The Post and Courier Staff
A Citadel cadet arrested by the INS last week could be deported even if cleared of criminal charges of lying to federal investigators and carrying two separate identities, according to court documents.
And officials with the county jail say they are treating a suicide attempt by the cadet on Monday as a ruse.
In a motion filed in U.S. District Court seeking to keep Yaser Khatib held without bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Kittrell says that the cadet, who is of Middle Eastern descent, is "considered to be a non-immigrant who is out of status, and who has been placed in removal proceedings."
"Removal" is an Immigration and Naturalization Service term for deportation.
In making the case to continue holding Khatib in the Charleston County Detention Center, the U.S. Attorney's office offers a look at some of the circumstances that may be behind its case. The memo filed in federal court - the only document in the case not sealed from public view - alleges that Khatib "presents himself as a dual citizen of Jordan and Saudi Arabia who possesses identity documents from both countries."
Bob Haley, Khatib's attorney, said Wednesday evening that he is not sure the allegations of the U.S. Attorney's office are correct.
"I haven't seen anything from the government to indicate to me that he is here illegally," Haley said.
Haley had no comment about the alleged suicide attempt by Khatib.
The memo filed by Kittrell says Khatib is a flight risk if released on bail because in the past two years he has traveled extensively, taking trips to Germany and Canada, as well as Houston and Atlanta.
At the time of his arrest by INS agents, he was carrying identifications listing his name as both Yaser Khatib and Ibrahim Zahid, according to the memo from Kittrell. The government claims he has credit cards and bank accounts under both names.On Wednesday afternoon, Charleston County Sheriff's Department spokesman Mitch Lucas confirmed that Khatib made an attempt to commit sui-cide Monday morning around 9:30 a.m.
"It was what most people could call a suicide attempt, but we think it was a ruse," Lucas said.
Sheriff's Department officials would not reveal how Khatib attempted to kill himself or whether he was transported to a hospital, saying that as a matter of security, they could not talk about techniques or the jail's response. Khatib is still being held in the county jail.
Khatib was arrested on charges of immigration violations on Oct. 31 after INS agents interviewed him for about 20 minutes on The Citadel's campus. Charges against him were not filed until Tuesday in the court of U.S. Magistrate Robert Carr. Khatib faces one count of making a materially false statement to a federal agent and one count of possession of fake identification.
In its memo filed in federal court, the U.S. Attorney's office said Khatib is not a citizen of the United States nor has he been admitted for permanent residence. Officials would not comment about his immigration status Wednesday.
Sue Brown, an INS spokeswoman in Atlanta, said Khatib's case has been turned over to the South Carolina U.S. Attorney's office and that she could not comment further.
Friends of Khatib said they don't believe he is in the country illegally and that his trips are easily explained.
Alex Sparra, a recent graduate of The Citadel and friend of Khatib's, said he took Khatib to his home in Atlanta for the weekend on several occasions. He also said he picked Khatib up at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta following his trip to Germany.
"He went to Germany for New Year's," Sparra recalled Wednesday. "His girlfriend lived there, and he went over a week before New Year's and stayed a week after."
Sparra said he met Khatib's girlfriend from Germany a few months later, when she visited Khatib here.
As for the frequent trips to Houston mentioned in the government memo, Harold Smoak, a friend of the family, said Khatib took a semester off to work in his father's business in Houston and said Khatib's girlfriend in Germany is another former international student.
Haley said Khatib's travels prove nothing.
"The last I checked, it wasn't illegal to travel," Haley said.
Khatib is scheduled for a detention hearing on Tuesday to determine whether he will be released on bail pending a grand jury investigation. Khatib's attorney is trying to get that hearing rescheduled for Friday.
Contact Brian Hicks at bhicks@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5561.
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