Is 'ISIS bride' Hoda Muthana an American citizen?
The lawyer for Muthana's family says she was born in the U.S. a month after her father left his position as a diplomat; analysis from Jim Hanson, president of the Security Studies Group.
The father of the Alabama woman begging to be let back into the U.S. after leaving years ago to join ISIS is now launching a legal campaign against President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr.
Attorneys from the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ahmed Ali Muthana arguing his daughter Hoda and her 18-month-old son should be allowed to return to America, and her citizenship – which the U.S. government disputes – should be recognized.
The suit also seeks a judgment that Muthana's father is “entitled to send his daughter money to ensure the survival of his daughter and grandson, and enable them safe passage home, without subjecting himself to criminal liability” under U.S. law.
Muthana currently is living at a refugee camp in northeast Syria and she "is willing to pay whatever debts she has to society” – even if it means serving a lengthy prison sentence, her family's lawyer told Fox News on Thursday.
ISIS WIFE BEGGING FOR US RETURN IS 'GOING TO HAVE TO ANSWER TO GOD FOR HER DECISIONS', ATTORNEY SAYS
In 2015, Muthana allegedly operated a Twitter account that, on at least one occasion, tried to incite Americans to commit acts of violence on national holidays.
Pompeo though has said Muthana is not an American citizen and Trump has vowed not to let her back into the country.
“In Ms. Muthana’s words, she recognizes that she has ‘ruined’ her own life, but she does not want to ruin the life of her young child,” the attorneys who filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia told AL.com in a statement. “Citizenship is a core right under the Constitution, and once recognized should not be able to be unilaterally revoked by tweet—no matter how egregious the intervening conduct may be."
But Zuhdi Jasser, the Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy -- a group that describes itself as a “Muslim-led organization working on the front lines for reform at all levels of the Muslim community” -- told Fox News yesterday the government shouldn’t even bother with Muthana.
“She became, not only a terrorist, she became an enemy of our country and if she did believe in the citizenship oath…she abandoned it and actually violated it and became an enemy combatant,” he said on "America’s Newsroom."
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
