The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked the deportation of a Denver man once targeted by the FBI as a terrorist.
The order by Justice Stephen Breyer keeps jailed Pakistani-American Haroon Rashid in the country until the Supreme Court decides whether to consider his case.
Rashid has been jailed for more than two years and is housed at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s regional immigration detention facility east of Denver.
Federal prosecutors never filed terrorism charges against Rashid or members of his extended family, who also were investigated as possible terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Prosecutors recently dropped immigration charges against Rashid and family members that the FBI pursued after their terrorism case fizzled.
But Rashid still faces deportation to Pakistan because of a misdemeanor conviction for assaulting a gang member during the FBI probe.
“For Rashid’s family, this means we keep their father in the country so that they can continue to see him,” said Andrew Reid, his attorney. “The next step will be to try to get him out on bond.”
