Paper: U.S. May Deport Iraqis Paid by CIA

Iraqis paid by the CIA for an unsuccessful attempt to oust Saddam Hussein and subsequently offered asylum in the United States now face deportation, possibly back to Iraq, the New York Times reports in today’s editions.

At least 13 refugees are accused by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of being “a danger to the security of the United States,” the newspaper said. Government lawyers said the FBI fears the men could be Iraqi spies or terrorists.

If those accusations are upheld against the men, who are seeking political asylum, they could be deported, possibly to Iraq, the newspaper said.

In telephone interviews, some of the men insisted they were victims of infighting among various Iraqi resistance groups.

The Iraqis in custody in California were defectors from their homeland’s military and joined CIA-backed resistance groups called the Iraqi National Accord and the Iraqi National Congress, the paper reported.

“We came to this land legally on account of the U.S. government, and they put us inside of a jail,” Ali Yasin Mohammed Karim is quoted as saying in the article. “I have a death penalty against me from Saddam Hussein. So I think it is not possible that I am his agent.”

The Iraqis jailed in California were among 600 men, women and children who fled their homes after Iraqi troops invaded the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq.

Sara Campos, a lawyer representing five of the men, told the newspaper: “These men are trapped in a cruel dilemma that the U.S. created. Some of the men are depressed and nearly suicidal. They have questioned whether being in a U.S. jail is any better than being subjected to the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.”