Hussein foe in immigration limbo in Denver (Denver Post)

Hussein foe in immigration limbo in Denver

By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Updated: 08/19/2009 07:51:17 AM MDT

An Iraqi man who spent years fighting Saddam Hussein's rule is now being delayed in his pursuit of U.S. residency while the federal government determines whether his opposition to Hussein amounted to terrorism.

Sami Al-Karim, 43, who was sent to Abu Ghraib prison in the 1980s by Hussein's regime for his "subversive" artwork criticizing government policies, has waited seven years in Denver while his application for a green card is processed.

The sculptor, painter and photographer was admitted into the U.S. in 2001 from a refugee camp.

While Al-Karim says he loves America and all of its freedoms, he is frustrated by the delay while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services decides whether his "material support" of a Tier III terrorist organization disqualifies him from residency in the U.S.

In the 1980s, Al-Karim acted as a messenger, sending tapes and letters to families of members of the Islamic Dawa Party — a group opposed to Hussein — who were in exile.

The Islamic Dawa Party has been identified by the U.S. as a Tier III terrorist group, two levels under groups such as Hamas, which is categorized as Tier I.

Iraq's elected prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is a member of the IDP.

"This same party is the democratically elected party in Iraq that United States forces are militarily defending and keeping in power," said Al-Karim's attorney, Jeffrey Joseph.

Al-Karim was granted refugee status in the U.S. based on his application to the State Department, in which he wrote that he needed placement because he had provided support to the IDP. That admission on his refugee paperwork is what is holding up his citizenship.

Al-Karim says he understands the need for security, but he says he is not a threat.

"Terrorism affects everyone," Al-Karim said. "We were terrorized more than Americans. Saddam Hussein was the biggest terrorist. He tortured my family, so we have been affected by terrorists and are hurting the same as you."

A 2008 amendment to the Patriot Act allows the government to lift the ban on immigrants based on their associations with terrorist organizations, recognizing that there are different levels of support to those groups and that some organizations were fighting dictatorships.

But applications involving those exemptions have been put on hold by the Department of Homeland Security, and the delays have affected about 7,000 people seeking permanent residency, Joseph said.

Matthew Chandler, a Homeland Security spokesman, did not comment specifically about Al-Karim's case but said the agency is working on reducing the delays.

"Over 10,500 individuals have benefited from the exemptions to the terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility that have been issued to date," Chandler said. "While the department views this achievement as significant, we also understand that a more efficient exemption-authorization process than the one that has been in place would reach greater numbers of deserving aliens."

Last year, Al-Karim filed a federal lawsuit in Denver and asked U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn to force prompt processing of his application.

A decision is expected any day, but Blackburn can only order the agency to finish Al-Karim's application; he cannot force it to grant Al-Karim permanent residency.

Al-Karim says he knows pushing the issue could mean deportation, but waiting in limbo has become unbearable.

Now a father of four children — all U.S. citizens — Al-Karim says it is difficult to travel around the world to show his artwork with a refugee permit instead of a green card. Every time he leaves the U.S., he risks not being able to get back into the country.

"I can't work," he said. "I am an artist; I have to travel to galleries and show my work."

Joseph said his client is not a terrorist and if the government believes he is, authorities have allowed Al-Karim to be in the country for seven years.