http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=8469

Publish Date: 6/28/2006

Arrest, Tancredo letter coincide
Lawmaker questions delayed deportation of Iraqi living in city

By Pierrette J. Shields
The Daily Times-Call

LONGMONT — An Iraqi man who lives in Longmont was arrested Tuesday after U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo protested the man’s delayed deportation in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security.

Immigration officials and Longmont police worked together to arrest Gavan S. Alkadi, 45, on the 1100 block of Gay Street on Tuesday morning.

The arrest came after Tancredo, who represents Colorado’s Sixth District, on Monday sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security director Michael Chertoff detailing Alkadi’s arrest record and long-delayed deportation.

According to a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Alkadi was arrested Tuesday morning because he failed to check in with ICE officials after he was released in May following a December 2005 arrest. He was released in May because “ICE determined that Mr. Alkadi’s removal to Iraq could not occur in the reasonably foreseeable future and that Mr. Alkadi met the criteria for release under the relevant regulation.”

The ICE statement noted that federal officials can hold immigrants for deportation for six months if arrangements cannot be made to send them to their home countries.

Sgt. Tim Lewis of the Longmont Police Department said Alkadi is well-known among police in the city.

“He’s an old-timer, really an old-timer here,” Lewis said, noting that Alkadi had spent one year in the Boulder County Jail for a 2001 domestic violence assault case.

ICE began deportation proceedings following the conviction in the 2001 case, and in fall of 2005 determined that he should be deported because of his felony record.

However, Iraq refuses to take him back.

Tancredo, one of Congress’ most outspoken advocates for tougher immigration laws, also asked in his letter to Chertoff why Alkadi hasn’t been returned to his native Iraq, even though the country won’t issue travel documents allowing him to return.

“I have been told that in past years, in such cases (immigration officials) would issue (their) own travel papers and simply put the individual on an airplane to that destination,” Tancredo wrote, adding later, “I am also confused about the release of this man in the wake of President Bush’s recent pledge to end the failed policy of ‘catch and release.’”

“(Alkadi) should be deported,” said Will Adams, a spokes-man for Tancredo, who added that Tancredo hasn’t yet received a response from Chertoff.

Adams said many countries refuse to allow nationals to return to native soil when the United States attempts deportations, which he said has resulted in an estimated 100,000 immigrants in the United States who have lost the right to remain here.

Lewis said Alkadi was considered a danger to residents in Longmont, but police were aware of him. He does not have a permanent Longmont address and tends to stay with friends in the city.

Alkadi has also been arrested on suspicion of assault, drug possession and burglary, but most charges were dismissed by the district attorney, according to court records. He has a menacing case pending in Weld County.

Lewis said officers understand that deportation proceedings for Alkadi are mired in politics.

“The ICE folks are doing the best they can with the political environment that is out there,” he said.

Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273, or by e-mail at pshields@times-call.com.