[Vision2020] Another Article of Interest

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (March 23, 2008) Spokesman Review -

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Much-lauded translator denied U.S. green card 
Karen Deyoung 
Washington Post
March 23, 2008

WASHINGTON – During his nearly four years as a translator for U.S. forces 
in Iraq, Saman Kareem Ahmad was known for his bravery and hard work. "Sam 
put his life on the line with, and for, Coalition Forces on a daily 
basis," wrote Marine Capt. Trent Gibson.

Gibson's letter was part of a thick file of support – including 
commendations from the secretary of the Navy and from then-Maj. Gen. David 
Petraeus – that helped Ahmad migrate to the United States in 2006, among 
an initial group of 50 Iraqi and Afghan translators admitted under a 
special visa program.

 
Last month, however, the U.S. government turned down Ahmad's application 
for permanent residence, known as a green card. His offense: Ahmad had 
once been part of the Kurdish Democratic Party, which U.S. immigration 
officials deemed an "undesignated terrorist organization" for having 
sought to overthrow former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Ahmad, a Kurd, once served in the KDP's military force, which is part of 
the new Iraqi army. A U.S. ally, the KDP is now the elected government of 
the Kurdish region and holds seats in the Iraqi parliament. After 
consulting public Web sites, however, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration 
Services determined that KDP forces "conducted full-scale armed attacks 
and helped incite rebellions against Hussein's regime, most notably during 
the Iran-Iraq war, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Ahmad's association with a group that had attempted to overthrow a 
government – even as allies in U.S.-led wars against Hussein – rendered 
him "inadmissible," the agency concluded in a three-page letter dated Feb. 
26.

In an interview Friday at Quantico Marine Corps Base, where he teaches 
Arabic language and culture to Marines deploying to Iraq, Ahmad's voice 
quavered, and his usually precise English failed him. "I am shamed," he 
said. He has put off his plans to marry a seamstress who tailors Marine 
uniforms. "I don't want my family live in America, they feel ashamed I'm 
with a terrorist group. I want them to be proud for what I did for the 
United States Marine Corps," Ahmad, 38, said.

"After I receive this letter, it's been three weeks, since then my whole 
life turns upside down. You might hear from the lawyer, they're not going 
to revoke your (visa), but how can you guarantee this? … I'm expecting, 
they stop the process of green card, tomorrow they're going to tell you to 
get out."

A nearly identical denial was sent the same day to another Iraqi Kurdish 
translator living in this country, according to Thomas Ragland, an 
attorney with a Washington law firm representing both men in court 
challenges to the denials. 

Petraeus, now the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said in an e-mail that he 
did not recall Ahmad personally, but said that KDP forces had performed 
valuable security services for the 101st Airborne Division he led in the 
northern city of Mosul in 2003. He said he had never heard of any U.S. 
agency labeling the KDP as terrorists.

Retired Marine Capt. Jason Schauble, who returned from Iraq in 2004 after 
being wounded, is Ahmad's official sponsor. In a letter he appended last 
week to Ahmad's immigration file, Schauble condemned whatever "faceless 
bureaucracy" rejected the application. "I don't know what a foreigner has 
to do that is greater than what Saman Ahmad has done in service to his 
American allies," Schauble wrote.

USCIS spokesman Peter Vietti said regulations prevent him from commenting 
on any specific case. After inquires about Ahmad from the Post, he 
said, "I can tell you the matter is being looked into."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"People who ridicule others while hiding behind anonymous monikers in chat-
room forums are neither brave nor clever." 

- Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch (August 21,
2007)

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