A blind Palestinian computer whiz in Denver fought the FBI and Department of Homeland Security without a lawyer – and won. Now his case may help force the FBI to expedite background checks on aspiring citizens.
U.S. District Judge Walker Miller has ordered the FBI to complete a stalled background check within 45 days for Zuhair Mahd, 33, who passed all U.S. citizenship tests in 2004 but still couldn’t get sworn in.
Miller ruled that federal officials violated their own rules in handling Mahd’s case. The order last week in Mahd’s self-filed lawsuit set a regional precedent for dozens of similar lawsuits by mostly Muslim citizenship applicants pending in federal court. It adds to pressure from federal judges around the country who are demanding that the FBI complete the security checks – instituted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to guard against terrorism – in a timely manner. Court records show the FBI faces a growing backlog of 440,000 uncompleted checks.
“I would hope I’ve inspired people to take their cases forward, speak out, and realize they can trust the legal system and feel vindicated,” Mahd said Wednesday at an apartment where he’s staying in Aurora.
Immigrants often “don’t even know they can seek judicial relief” when their applications are stalled, he said. Part of his motivation was “wanting to be sure I’m not living an illusion in a country that claims to be democratic but really isn’t.”
This was Mahd’s first legal case. Born totally blind to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Mahd endured poverty and rejection as a teenager before finding a banker who, with the help of U.S. officials, bought him a ticket to Boston. Mahd graduated from U.S. schools, then pioneered Arabic text-to-speech software working for IBM and as an independent contractor interested in government business.
FBI officials “respect the court’s ruling,” spokesman Paul Bresson said from Washington. “We will continue to evaluate ways to improve our ability to process these name checks in a more expeditious manner.”
Delays are caused by “the sheer volume of names submitted” by multiple government agencies – about 3 million a year, Bresson said. “Every name is processed thoroughly. We have never sacrificed security in any way.”
FBI could appeal ruling
Today, Madh plans to ride the bus to a hearing with immigration officials that was scheduled before he won his lawsuit. Mary Mischke, acting Denver district director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of Homeland Security, had asked him to present more “evidence,” including tax records, travel documents and a driver’s license.
Mahd said he’s hoping the judge’s order will mean his citizenship now will be approved.
But immigration officials “can’t do anything until we get a clear record from the FBI,” immigration spokeswoman Maria Elena Garcia-Upson said. “We owe that to the American public.”
Immigration officials “are reviewing” Judge Miller’s order, Garcia-Upson said, declining to comment further.
U.S. Attorney Troy Eid in Colorado, whose office defended the FBI and Homeland Security against Mahd, is weighing whether to appeal, his spokesman Jeff Dorschner said.
Federal law says immigrants who pass citizenship tests must be granted citizenship in 120 days. That’s the law Mahd cited in the legal case he prepared on his home computer.
Court records show immigration officials twice asked the FBI to complete Mahd’s case.
The system clearly is broken, and federal court orders like the one in Denver should force “an improvement in security,” said Crystal Williams, deputy director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“If there is something wrong with this guy, the judge has ordered (FBI and immigration officials) to find out once and for all what it is. If there isn’t anything wrong, then the FBI must clear him.
“Federal officials have let this build up, and it’s only going to build up more if they don’t address it. The FBI needs more resources to do these checks. And they need to focus them more.”
Staff writer Bruce Finley can be reached at 303-954-1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com.
