Illegal Alien from United Arab Emirates Arrested in FLA for Possession of (updated)
Illegal Immigrant from United Arab Emirates Arrested in FLA for Possession of Ammunition
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by CAROLINE MAY10 Dec 201510
An illegal immigrant from the United Arab Emirates is facing charges in Florida for illegally possessing ammunition, the U.S. United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida A. Lee Bentley, III revealed Thursday.
According to a complaint, 25-year-old Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif had been living at a hotel in Melbourne for 53 days, checking out each morning and checking back into the hotel each evening. He further had paid over $11,000 in cash for room fees.
Rehaif admitted to investigators that he had several firearms in his possession, and had fired them at two local gun ranges, but claimed he’d recently sold or disposed of the weapons.
“Agents located rounds of handgun and rifle ammunition in his hotel room and in a storage unit that he had rented, but they did not locate any firearms,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office explained in a release.
The complaint notes that Rehaif was admitted to the U.S. on a student visa in 2013. He was enrolled at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida but was dismissed in the fall of last year. He failed to leave the country within 30 days of the end of his student status. By failing to leave Rehaif became an illegal immigrant.
He has been charged with possession of ammunition by an unlawful or illegal alien, a penalty that carried up to 10 years in federal prison.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and it will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce S. Ambrose.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...on-ammunition/
Judge rules Arab ex-student accused of storing ammo must remain in custody
By Daniel Dahm
Posted: 7:15 AM, December 14, 2015
Updated: 12:25 PM, December 14, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. - A judge on Monday ruled that there was probable cause to keep a 25-year-old United Arab Emirates citizen in federal custody after he was arrested in Central Florida for unlawfully possessing ammunition.
Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif was arrested last week on a charge of possession of ammunition by an unlawful or illegal alien.
According to a complaint, Rehaif was admitted into the United States in 2013 under a student visa. He had been enrolled at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, but was terminated as a student in the fall of 2014, officials said.
Rehaif failed to leave the country within 30 days of his termination as a student and became an unlawful alien, officials said.
A Homeland Security special agent testified Monday, saying Rehaif should have left country as soon as he was no longer enrolled.
The agent said in court that Rehaif has no known links to any terrorist group but added that an investigation is ongoing.
Three women who identified themselves as family members said Rehaif was targeted by authorities because of his race. They described him as kind and loving, calling him a "teddy bear."
Law enforcement agents contacted Rehaif last Wednesday at a hotel in Melbourne, where he had been living for the last two months, paying more than $11,000 in cash for room fees, authorities said. Rehaif admitted to possessing several firearms, but said that he had recently sold or disposed of them, officials said. He also admitted to firing those weapons at two local gun ranges, according to officials.
Authorities said Rehaif also spent time at gun ranges, one in Orlando, the other at FrogBones Gun Range in Melbourne.
"He shot better than other people I've seen on the range," manager Doug Torpy said.
Torpy said Rehaif visited the range twice, most recently on Dec. 2, renting a Glock 43 for practice. However, Tropy said there was nothing strange about his demeanor.
"He had the proper documentation to be able to shoot and be in possession of a firearm, so he presented everything to us and acted as if he was in a sound mind," Tropy said.
Agents located rounds of handgun and rifle ammunition in his hotel room and in a storage unit that he had rented, but they did not find any firearms, the complaint said.
Investigators said Rehaif admitted to being in the country illegally.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security investigators and the FBI.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/ara...o-before-judge
SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT’S GUN POSSESSION CONVICTION
1/13/2019
Kevin Daley
The Supreme Court will decide whether an illegal alien from the United Arab Emirates was wrongfully convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm.
The case was occasioned in December 2015, when Hamid Mohamed Ahmed Ali Rehaif was arrested in Florida after renting a gun at a shooting range and purchasing ammunition. Federal law prohibits certain classes of people from possessing guns, including illegal aliens.
Rehaif is a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. He came to the United States in 2013 to attend the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), but was dismissed for academic reasons on Jan. 21, 2015. His lawful immigration status terminated shortly thereafter on Feb. 23, 2015. Therefore, he was in the U.S. illegally when he rented the gun and procured ammunition.
At trial, the judge told the jury that “the [prosecution] is not required to prove that [Rehaif] knew that he was illegally or unlawfully in the United States.” The legal question the Supreme Court will decide is whether that instruction was correct.
Rehaif says the language of the law under which he was convicted requires the government to prove that he knowingly possessed a firearm and knowingly violated immigration law in order to secure a conviction. That point is important because Rehaif claims he did not know his immigration authorization expired after he left FIT. If Rehaif was not aware of his changed immigration status, his lawyers argue, he cannot be convicted for being an illegal alien in possession of a fire arm under the relevant law.
In court papers, Rehaif’s lawyers make much of two opinions Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote as a judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that largely endorsed Rehaif’s reading of the statute. As such, Gorsuch is poised to play a significant role in the outcome of the case.
Gorsuch’s opinions notwithstanding, no federal appeals court has ever adopted Rehaif’s interpretation.
Roughly 5,000 defendants are convicted each year for being prohibited persons — like felons or illegal aliens — in possession of a gun, according to Rehaif’s petition.
Despite Rehaif’s objection to the jury instruction, he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Thereafter, he was deported to the UAE.
The justices will likely hear Rehaif’s case in the spring. A decision will follow by June.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/13/s...illegal-alien/
