Tempe imam upset at green-card delay

For the past hour, Khafaji, the Iraqi spiritual leader of the Valley's 5,000 Shiite Muslims, had explained how he was tortured for opposing Saddam Hussein's regime. How he came to the United States six years ago as a refugee believing this country was a land of freedom and justice. And how he now feels as though the government is treating him unfairly.

The problem, he said, is getting his green card, allowing the holder to live and work permanently in the United States, and the first step toward becoming a citizen. He first applied for the card in 2001 but still is waiting, unable to clear an FBI background check.

It's a problem shared by thousands of immigrants and refugees with Middle Eastern and Arab-sounding names, mostly men, immigrant advocates say. U.S. officials acknowledge the delays, saying it is the cost of national security.

Still, Khafaji, imam at Almahdi Mosque in Tempe, can't understand why his case is taking so long. His situation is especially frustrating, he said, because of his lifelong opposition to Saddam. What's more, his Syrian-born wife and three children received their green cards within a year of applying, even though all the family members applied at the same time. In January, his wife became a citizen.

Carries scars from torture

Because of his resistance to Saddam, Khafaji was allowed to enter the United States as a refugee, a special classification awarded to people from other countries who can prove persecution. He lives with constant reminders of his torture.

Seated on the sofa of his north Phoenix home, Khafaji rolled up a pant leg, showing a long jagged scar above the right knee where doctors removed a ligament damaged more than 30 years ago. He said Saddam's security forces bludgeoned his knees and feet with a cement-filled rubber hose.

He thrust out his arm and showed where they seared his flesh with an iron.

Government officials said that FBI background checks have caused indefinite delays for only a small percentage of people who apply for green cards and citizenship. Anyone who applies for an immigration benefit today is undergoing intense scrutiny.

"We cannot afford a repeat of 9/11," said Dan Kane, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Kane said he could not comment on Khafaji's case, for privacy reasons, but said that in general, "there is heightened awareness of names of men from the Middle East." FBI investigations are triggered when an applicant's name matches one on a law-enforcement database during a name check.

"If there is a law-enforcement hit, then we have to investigate more fully," Kane said. "Let's say there are 3,000 people with that same name. That doesn't mean it's that individual. It means we have to investigate more fully."

He said applicants should be patient, noting that delays do not affect work permits or the ability to remain in the country.

In fiscal 2005, 548,847 people applied for green cards and 588,994 applied for naturalization, according to Immigration spokesman Chris Bentley. Of the 1.1 million total, only about 1 percent, or about 11,000, experienced delays longer than six months because of background security checks, he said. For that 1 percent, however, the wait can be years instead of months, he said.

Khafaji's experience is common among Middle Eastern and Muslim immigrants and refugees across the Phoenix area and the United States, immigrant advocates said, though no one knows the exact number.

Nothing to do but wait

Farrokh Parsi, a Scottsdale immigration lawyer who specializes in Middle Eastern clients, said he has seen a dozen cases. Typically, he said, "the children are approved, and then the wife is approved but not the men. There is nothing they can do but wait."

Nure Elatari, spokeswoman for the Council on American- Islamic Relation's Arizona chapter, said about 75 people have filed complaints with the organization, some because of delays as long as eight years. Elatari said she understands the need for caution. But she believes the delays involving Middle Easterners amount to racial profiling.

"We can't investigate everyone just because they are Middle Eastern and that's what they are doing," Elatari said.

In April, the Washington, D.C.-based American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee coordinated an effort by 40 attorneys to file federal court petitions on behalf of dozens of immigrants across the country. Petitions were filed in Arizona and 12 other states.

But the court papers dealt only with naturalization, not green-card applications, said Kareem Shora, the group's legal director.