TERRORISM TIES Cleveland mosque leader has citizenship stripped

During his appeal, the imam is free on bond.
AKRON (AP) -- The leader of Ohio's largest mosque lost his citizenship Thursday, but it could be years before the issue of his deportation is resolved.
Imam Fawaz Damra was convicted of lying about connections to terrorist groups when he applied in 1994 to become a citizen.
U.S. District Judge James S. Gwin, who sentenced the Palestinian-born cleric Monday to two months in prison, revoked Damra's citizenship Thursday.
Prosecutors told Gwin that the government wouldn't try to deport Damra until after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears the appeal of his conviction. Many appeals take as long as 14 to 18 months.
Expediting the process
U.S. Attorney Gregory White said his office may ask for an expedited appeal.
"Whatever we can do to get this done quickly, we will," White said. "The main thing for us from the beginning was to get this individual out of the country. He doesn't deserve to be a U.S. citizen."
Damra, imam of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, also was sentenced to four months of home detention. He could have received up to five years in prison on the charge of obtaining U.S. citizenship by providing false information.
Gwin allowed Damra to remain free on bond. He said Damra could start serving his sentence Nov. 22, after the Muslim holiday of Ramadan ends.
Awaiting appeal
Attorney David Leopold filed papers to represent Damra in federal immigration court on the day of sentencing, but said there's nothing to do unless Damra loses his appeal.
In that event, Leopold said, Damra's immigrant status should revert to what it was before he was granted citizenship -- that of green-card holder, or legal permanent resident.
It's a common misconception, Leopold said, that people stripped of their citizenship "are shown the door" out of the United States.
"There are many, many people in this country who are not citizens," Leopold said. "As legal permanent residents, they live here for many years."
Leopold said it often takes as long as two years to schedule an initial hearing because immigration courts are so clogged.
Can still work
Damra will be eligible to stay in the country and continue working as the prayer leader of the Islamic Center of Greater Cleveland during the appeals process. But his future at the mosque is uncertain.
The mosque's president, Dr. Ali Halabi, remains unsure of what will happen next. He and his fellow board members have tried to fire Damra but were thwarted by the congregation, which supported Damra by a wide margin in a referendum in March.
Damra was convicted in June of concealing ties to Afghan Refugee Services, the Islamic Committee for Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, groups the U.S. government classifies as terrorist organizations.
Damra could not be reached to comment Thursday. A message left at his office was not returned.