US Court Orders Deportation of Hafiz Saeed’s Brother
By Khalid Hasan

Washington, DC: Imam Muhammad Masood, brother of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, was ordered deported by a Boston, Massachusetts court last Thursday on an immigration violation charge.
Under an agreement with federal immigration authorities, the former imam of the 1,500-member Islamic Center of New England agreed to voluntarily leave the United States on Friday night and return to Pakistan rather than be deported by the authorities which would have taken months, a period he would have spent in jail.

He was accused of having lied to immigration authorities from 2002 to 2006 in a bid to obtain a Green Card. He pleaded guilty in February to five federal crimes stemming from his actions, which led to his deportation order. He will leave behind his wife and eight children.
Imam Masood came to the US in 1987 under a special visa for exchange students. He enrolled at Vanderbilt University and transferred to Boston University a year later to study economics. He became the imam of the Sharon mosque in 1998. In December 2002, Masood admitted that he had falsely told authorities in an application for permanent legal residency that he returned to Pakistan from 1991 to 1993 after completing his studies.

Immigrants with the kind of visa Masood had are required by law to return to their country of origin for two years before they can apply for a Green Card. Masood said he never left Boston. He also admitted falsely denying to immigration authorities that he had been arrested for any crimes. He was arrested for alleged shoplifting in Norwood in 2000. The charge was dismissed. (Daily Times)

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