The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to revoke the citizenship of a Phoenix-area man accused of acting as a leader within al-Qaida and participating in the killing of two Iraqi police officers nearly two decades ago.
Federal officials announced Friday that denaturalization proceedings had been filed against 48-year-old Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri, who Iraqi authorities have sought to extradite since 2019 in connection with the 2006 killings.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Al-Nouri entered the United States in 2009 after claiming that he and his family had been targeted by al-Qaida. U.S. authorities later concluded that he had concealed information tied to his alleged extremist activities during the immigration and naturalization process.
The Department of Justice said the government can pursue denaturalization when citizenship was obtained through fraud or material misrepresentations. Officials determined in 2015 that Al-Nouri had allegedly lied about his background while seeking legal status in the United States.
“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice. “Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest effect of the law.”
Al-Nouri is among a group of individuals across the country currently being targeted in renewed federal denaturalization efforts, according to the DOJ announcement.
The case remains civil in nature for now, focusing on the revocation of citizenship rather than a criminal prosecution in the United States. Iraqi officials continue to seek his extradition to face charges connected to the deaths of the two officers.
