2 weeks ago
Former CIA Informant Faces Deportation After Immigration Arrest
Blerim Skoro is a man from Kosovo who says he helped American agencies learn about terrorists.
He says he began cooperating while serving a prison sentence after the September 11 attacks.
Reports say he gave information about Osama bin Laden and several terrorism suspects.
He also says he later worked undercover against al-Qaeda in several countries.
The United States deported him to Kosovo in 2007, but he returned to the country in 2014.
Immigration officers arrested him in New Jersey while he was renewing his paperwork.
A judge had previously said he could not be sent back to Kosovo because he might be tortured or killed there.
His lawyers now want the court to stop his deportation case.
Skoro says he feels betrayed by the government he helped.
Blerim Skoro, a 55-year-old Kosovo-born former informant, was arrested by ICE on August 3 at a New Jersey immigration office.
Skoro says he supplied U.S. authorities with intelligence on Osama bin Laden and other suspected terrorists after his recruitment in prison.
Court documents and reporting say he provided information involving the Lackawanna Six, Hezbollah, a Virginia jihad network and a Syrian training camp.
He was deported to Kosovo in 2007, later says he worked undercover against al-Qaeda, and returned to the United States in 2014 after his cover was exposed.
His lawyers are asking a federal court to block or terminate the removal proceedings, citing a 2022 ruling protecting him from deportation to Kosovo under the Convention Against Torture.
- Who
- Blerim Skoro, a 55-year-old Kosovo-born former informant, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- What
- Skoro was arrested during an immigration appointment and is contesting deportation proceedings.
- Where
- He was arrested at an immigration office in New Jersey and is being held at the Elizabeth Detention Center; the proposed removal destination is Kosovo.
- When
- He was arrested on August 3; a federal court barred his deportation to Kosovo under the Convention Against Torture in November 2022.
- Why
- ICE is pursuing immigration enforcement after Skoro returned to the United States following a prior deportation, while his lawyers argue that prior court protection and his intelligence work should prevent his removal.
Skoro and his legal team
Immigration authorities
Effect of intelligence cooperation
Skoro and his legal team
Skoro and his lawyers say U.S. agencies promised to protect him because of his intelligence work, including alleged undercover operations against terrorists.
Immigration authorities
Despite those claims, Skoro was deported to Kosovo in 2007, and ICE is now pursuing removal proceedings after his later return to the United States.
Meaning of the 2022 ruling
Skoro and his legal team
His lawyers argue that the ruling preventing removal to Kosovo means ICE must obtain judicial permission before taking further action and that the proceedings should be stopped.
Immigration authorities
The 2022 decision protected Skoro from deportation to Kosovo under the Convention Against Torture but did not grant him permanent legal residency.
Safety if removed
Skoro and his legal team
Skoro and his wife say he could be tortured or killed in Kosovo because of his alleged work for U.S. agencies, and Skoro says he wants to remain near his children.
Immigration authorities
The articles report that ICE is enforcing his immigration case; they do not provide a public agency response addressing his specific safety claims.
Key facts
- Person
- Blerim Skoro, 55, a father of three and former informant
- Arrest
- ICE arrested him on August 3 at a New Jersey immigration office
- Reported cooperation
- He says he worked with the CIA, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration for almost a decade
- Reported intelligence
- His alleged information concerned Osama bin Laden, the Lackawanna Six, Hezbollah and other suspected terrorists
- Prior deportation
- He was deported to Kosovo in 2007 after completing a prison sentence
- Return to United States
- He says he returned in 2014 after his cover was exposed and he was wounded in an assassination attempt in Kosovo
- 2022 court ruling
- A federal judge ruled that he could not be deported to Kosovo under the Convention Against Torture because of the risk of torture or death
Quotes
Blerim Skoro
Kosovo-born former CIA informant
“"I never thought they were going to betray me like this. Please, if I die, I should die in this country so my kids can bury me."”
NDTV
“I considered myself a patriot of America first and a Muslim second. I wanted to pay back this country”
wionews.com
Sources
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