Thread: Muslim Cleric caught sneaking into the U.S.

Controversial Muslim Cleric caught sneaking into the U.S.

By Elizabeth Aguilera
January 26, 2011 at 5:08 p.m.

A controversial Muslim cleric ousted from Canada three years ago was found hiding in the trunk of a BMW in east San Diego, after sneaking across the border on foot, by U.S. Border Patrol agents earlier this month.

Said Jaziri, a Tunisian Imam, is being held as a material witness against American citizen Kenneth Robert Lawler who was driving the vehicle Jan. 11. Lawler is charged with immigrant smuggling.

Jaziri will not face charges of his own for being in the country illegally until the case against Lawler is over. At that time he will be processed for deportation to Tunisia, said Steven Pitts, spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol.

Jaziri was deported from Canada in 2007 for lying on his refugee application about jail time he served in France years earlier. His supporters there said Canadian officials targeted him for his fundamentalism, according to Canadian reports.

As the Imam of the Al-Qods mosque in Montreal, Jaziri was well-known for being outspoken on behalf of Sharia law, a strict form of Islamic law, and for denouncing homosexuality. He was also known for his position on reasonable accommodation, according to Canadian reports.

The apprehension of such a high-profile and controversial figure is unusual in the San Diego Sector, Pitts said.

Last year 2 percent of apprehensions in the San Diego Sector were of people who are not Mexican, Pitts said. Breakdowns of countries of origin for those 1,306 individuals were not readily available. So far this year of 11,000 apprehensions, 254 were people other than Mexican.

According to court documents Jaziri traveled from Tunisia to Spain to Guatemala to El Salvador to Belize to Chetumal, Mexico. From there he rode a bus to Tijuana where he found someone to smuggle him into the U.S.

Jaziri said he paid $5,000 to a smuggling group, namely a white male named Robert who spoke English, for transport to the U.S,, according to court documents.

After scaling a border wall with a ladder and an overnight trek through the back country Jaziri, Mexican national Gonzalo Gutierrez-Mercado and the guide emerged near Tierra del Sol Road, near the intersection of Moon Valley Road, where the BMW was waiting. The guide, who helped the men into the vehicle before he ran away, was later found by Border Patrol.

A group of California Firefighters watched the men climb into the vehicle and one of them reported the incident to a nearby border Patrol agent. The agent alerted other his counterparts in the area who then spotted the vehicle and apprehended it near the Golden Acorn Casino.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... ng-into-t/

A group of California Firefighters watched the men climb into the vehicle and one of them reported the incident to a nearby border Patrol agent.

If you see something, say something.

Deported imam nabbed after crossing into U.S. from Mexico

By Bradley Bouzane, Postmedia News January 26, 2011 5:02 PM

A controversial imam who was deported to Tunisia from Canada in 2007 is in U.S. custody after being discovered in the trunk of a vehicle shortly after crossing over from Mexico earlier this month.


Steven Pitts, a San Diego-based U.S. Border Patrol spokesman, said Wednesday that Said Jaziri was one of two illegal aliens apprehended on Jan. 11 just east of the California city.


Jaziri, 43, and the other individual, who was not identified, were travelling in a BMW driven by Kenneth Robert Lawler, Pitts said.


"Within a matter of minutes (of entering in the U.S. from Mexico), he was encountered," Pitts said Wednesday, noting that the vehicle was first reported to border officials by an off-duty firefighter. "It looks like (Jaziri) was encountered in the trunk of this vehicle.


"He's being held as a material witness, after which he will be processed for removal or deportation proceedings."


Pitts said Jaziri is in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and is being held as a witness against Lawler, who faces alien smuggling charges.


The Los Angeles Times reported that Jaziri's lawyer was Wayne Charles Mayer. Calls to his office on Wednesday were not returned, but the newspaper reported that Jaziri was being held at a detention facility near Yuma, Ariz. His bail has reportedly been set at $25,000.


The Muslim cleric, who encouraged demonstrations in Montreal against the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, was deported to Tunisia in October 2007.


He was initially granted refugee status, but it was later revoked because Jaziri had concealed the fact he was convicted and served jail time in France for an assault on an individual whose actions had led to the closing of a prayer room. He insisted his life was in danger if he returned to Tunisia.

http://oneoldvet.com/

www.vancouversun.com

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http://www.alipac.us/article-6030--0-0.html

East San Diego and illegal border crossers.........Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Cartels. Hmmmm

Terrorists in that area? Hmmmmmm

Originally Posted by TakingBackSoCal

East San Diego and illegal border crossers.........Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Cartels. Hmmmm

Terrorists in that area? Hmmmmmm

He was going to head up the 15 to that new mosque in Temecula.

Temecula City Council unanimously approves mosque despite vocal opposition

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 3329.story

Meanwhile, Janet Napolitano focuses on the AFGHANISTAN border.

The resources this government places on securing our border makes it obvious that "HOMELAND SECURITY" is a complete joke.

Originally Posted by HAPPY2BME

Meanwhile, Janet Napolitano focuses on the AFGHANISTAN border.

The resources this government places on securing our border makes it obvious that "HOMELAND SECURITY" is a complete joke.

Why should she worry she already said our borders are safe!!


Kathyet

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Radical Muslim Cleric Slips into U.S. Through Mexico

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