CHARLES E. SCHUMER

       NEW YORK

 

United States Senate

 

WASHINGTON, DC, 20510

 

March 19, 2004

 

The Honorable Michael J. Garcia

Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Department of  Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

 

Dear Mr. Garcia,

 

I write to urge the Bureau's favorable consideration of Mr. Ansar Mahmood's (A# 47265599) petitions for release under an order of supervision and deferred action on his deportation. The facts of Mr. Mahmood's case as they have been reported to me are compelling and warrant the exercise of the Bureau's discretion.

 

Mr. Mahmood entered the United States legally in Apri1 of 2000. He worked up to 14 hours a day delivering pizzas in Hudson, New York and earned enough money to move his parents and younger sisters out of poverty in Pakistan. In October, 2001, he was arrested in Hudson for arousing suspicion after asking a security guard at the Hudson reservoir to take a photograph of him against a backdrop of New York's fall foliage. Unbeknownst to him, the scene Mr. Mahmood was trying to capture with his camera also included a water treatment facility.

 

The FBI quickly cleared Mr. Mahmood of any link to terrorist activity, including tampering with the water supply. A police search of his home did revea1 that he had co­signed an apartment lease and registered a car for a Pakistani couple who had overstayed their tourist visas. Although Mr. Mahmood reports that he did not know that the couple remained in the country illegally, he was charged with harboring the couple. Following his public defender's advice, Mr. Mahmood pleaded guilty in hopes that the court would be sympathetic. The court sentenced him to time served and five years probation. However, because Mr. Mahmood pleaded guilty to the offense, he became subject to deportation. Despite the  fact that he had already served his time for his immigration offense, Mr. Mahmood has been detained in Batavia for over two years, since February of 2002.

 

The FBI has thoroughly investigated Mr. Mahmood and has determined that he does not pose a. threat to the United States. As a hard-working immigrant who poses no threat to the community and has no other convictions, Mr. Mahmood should be allowed to remain in the country and work to support himself and his family in Pakistan. The Hudson community agrees and has organized numerous efforts to support Mr. Mahmood including circulating petitions, holding rallies and making his case known to elected officials and the media.

 

 

 

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 me, I respectfully request that the Bureau exercise its discretion in this case and grant Mr. Mahmood's petitions for release and deferred action. If you should need additional information please contact my immigration staff in New York at 212-486-4430. I look forward to hearing from you about this important matter.

 

Sincerely,

  /signed/

 

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

 

cc:

The Honorable Tom Ridge

Secretary

Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

 

Mr. William Cleary

Acting Field Director

BICE, Detention and Removal Operations

130 Delaware Avenue

Buffalo, New York 14202