PATERSON -- When Imam Mohammad Qatanani's deportation trial begins Thursday, he faces a judge known for his fairness and willingness to grant residency to immigrants seeking asylum in the United States.
But U.S. Immigration Judge Alberto J. Riefkohl also strictly adheres to the law, immigration lawyers say. He has deported foreigners he sympathized with because of the nation's tightening regulations on immigrants with criminal histories.
Qatanani faces deportation for not disclosing on his application for permanent U.S. residency a conviction in an Israeli court. This omission -- that he was sentenced for assisting Hamas, as Israel contends -- could be considered perjury.
For 12 years, Qatanani, 44, has acted as the spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson. Immigration authorities denied permanent residence for Qatanani and his family in 2006.
In recent weeks, a grass roots movement has sprung up to keep the imam in Paterson, with three days of protests planned in front of the Newark courthouse starting Thursday. The case has attracted national attention because of the imam's interfaith outreach and denouncement of terrorism.
Last month, Israeli police released a statement saying they sentenced the religious leader to three months in prison for aiding Hamas in 1993. Qatanani said he was detained by Israeli police for three months after returning to the West Bank from Jordan, but believed it was an administrative detention, not a criminal conviction.
So, despite Riefkohl's record on asylum cases, the trial will likely involve legal interpretations of the imam's detention 15 years ago, and whether the omission on his application constituted a lie.
"You will see a focused trial," said Sohail Mohammed, an immigration lawyer in Clifton who has appeared before Riefkohl but is not representing Qatanani. "The issues being litigated are what was said (and) what was not said."
The U.S. Immigration Court in downtown Newark has jurisdiction over civil cases in New Jersey referred by the Department of Homeland Security. Nearly 7,000 people appeared before court judges in 2007. There is no jury in Immigration Court.
During a hearing, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security and the defendant sit at opposing benches before the judge. The small, windowless courtroom contains 12 benches for the public. The civil proceedings are open unless a judge closes them, which sometimes happens in cases with allegations of terrorism.
A lawyer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presents his case first, giving the immigrant's history of legal status in the United States and submits evidence on past charges. The defendant is called to the stand to respond to the testimony. Witnesses from both sides address the judge and can be cross-examined. Lawyers may object to testimony or evidence submitted. Unlike in other courts, immigration proceedings have no opening and closing remarks.
The majority of hearings in Immigration Court in Newark deal with asylum, where a foreigner seeks residency because of instability in his home country. Many of them wrap up in a day, attorneys say. An immigrant can gain legal residency immediately after the judge makes his oral decision. Most proceedings include few witnesses and are sparsely attended.
In contrast, Qatanani's trial is scheduled for three days, concluding on May 12. Fifteen witnesses will be called, one flying in from California. The judiciary has capped the number of people allowed to sit in the courtroom at 50. Riefkohl will make a written decision that will likely take months to pen.
According to a survey by Syracuse University, Riefkohl ranked 26 out of 208 judges for the frequency that he granted asylum. The judge granted asylum in 62 percent of the 960 cases he heard between 2000 and 2006.
"I think they've done well by getting him," said Theodore Ruthizer, a professor at Columbia Law School who knew Riefkohl when the judge owned a general practice law firm in New York City. Qatanani is a moderate Muslim known nationally for fostering ties between the Islamic community, other religions and law enforcement, especially after Sept. 11. His defense lawyer, Claudia Slovinsky, will call two New Jersey sheriffs and a former U.S. Attorney to speak on his behalf. Slovinsky solicited Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, to testify, but Pascrell opted against it, because he is in Washington, D.C., this week, his spokesman said.
In the early 1990s, as a professor at the University of Jordan, Qatanani says, he helped Palestinians travel there to study but did not push them toward Hamas. The cleric says he never knew about the conviction until the U.S. government denied his green card application in 2006.
Still, the imam's failure to report the alleged conviction on his application could be considered "material misrepresentation." To be convicted of fraud, a defendant must have lied, lied intentionally and cut off immigration officials' line of inquiry during an investigation into his background.
The cases are hard to predict because they involve analyzing past factual discrepancies, immigration lawyers say. How the judge will look on Qatanani's reputed assistance of Hamas is also a wild card.
Either side can appeal the judge's decision within 30 days. An appeal goes before the U.S. Board of Appeals at the Executive Office of Immigration Review in Virginia. The immigrant can appeal the board's decision. In rare cases, the appeal will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, said Elaine Komis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice.
Mohammed, the Clifton lawyer, expects the trial to go to appeal. "Don't expect a decision on Monday afternoon," he said.
Reach Heather Haddon at 973-569-7121 or haddon@northjersey.com.
