Poughkeepsie Journal.com
Saturday, May 22, 2004
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The case of an immigrant pizza deliveryman from Hudson, Columbia
County, who was detained after taking pictures of a reservoir, received
additional support Friday from five out-of-state U.S. senators.
Ansar Mahmood was working in Hudson about a month after the Sept. 11 attacks
when he was questioned for taking pictures by an area reservoir. Mahmood, 26,
said he was taking scenic photographs for his family in Pakistan.
No terror-related charges were ever filed against him, but investigators
found he co-signed an apartment lease and registered a car for a local
Pakistani couple with expired visas.
He was convicted in 2002 of illegally harboring aliens and ordered deported,
but is seeking supervised release in this country.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., took up his cause, and Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton, D-N.Y., has written to immigration officials on his behalf.
On Friday, Democratic Sens. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Richard Durbin of
Illinois, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and
Vermont's Patrick Leahy asked federal officials to consider letting Mahmood
stay.
The senators made the request in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Tom
Ridge, whose department includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
''Based on the outpouring of support for Mr. Mahmood from the Hudson
community and the facts of his case as they have been reported to us, we
respectfully request that you give due consideration to Mr. Mahmood's petition
for release and deferred action,'' the letter said.
On the Web
Department of Homeland Security: www.dhs.gov