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by IANS |
Washington, Feb 3 (IANS) The United States has filed a civil action seeking to revoke the citizenship of an Indian-born man convicted of rape and kidnapping, saying he concealed violent crimes during his naturalization process, the Justice Department announced.
In a complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York, the Justice Department said Gurmeet Singh hid and misrepresented material facts on his naturalization application, including that he had previously kidnapped and sexually assaulted a female passenger while working as a taxicab driver.
According to the complaint, after the passenger fell asleep in the back seat, Singh drove to a side street where she awoke to find him on top of her with a knife at her throat. He allegedly told her to stop resisting if she wanted to live. Singh then bound and gagged the woman, blindfolded her, removed her clothes and raped her, the Justice Department said.
Despite these alleged acts, Singh proceeded through the naturalization process and became a US citizen on October 19, 2011, according to the filing.
After obtaining citizenship, Singh was later convicted in New York state court of Rape in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree as a sexually motivated felony. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“This Department of Justice will continue to strip citizenship from those who commit heinous crimes and conceal them during the naturalization process,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “American citizenship is a great and sacred privilege that must be earned honestly.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said Singh should never have been granted citizenship.
“This individual’s vile acts prove that he should not have been granted US citizenship,” Shumate said. “Singh entered our country through family-based immigration laws, then committed horrible crimes before lying about them to become a US citizen. We will now correct this injustice.”
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, US officials may revoke naturalized citizenship and cancel a certificate of naturalization if it was illegally obtained or procured through the concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation.
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