Prosecutors Allege Man Who Sought Asylum in Brownsville Is a Terrorist

Reported by: Farrah Fazal
Last Update: 1:37 pm

SAN ANTONIO - Government prosecutors will try to prove a man who asked for asylum in Brownsville is a terrorist.

Ahmed Muhammad Dhakane pleaded guilty to lying on his asylum application. His sentencing hearing is under way in San Antonio.

U.S. marshals brought Dhakane to the federal courthouse in San Antonio on Thursday morning. Prosecutors say he is a human smuggler and terrorist with ties to al-Qaida.

Dhakane is a Somalian national. He went through Brazil and Central America and then came into the United States through Brownsville, where he asked for asylum.

Prosecutors say he lied about his past on his asylum application. They say he also lied about the woman he was with. Prosecutors say she was one of the hundreds of people Dhakane smuggled into the United States.

Dhakane pleaded guilty to lying in his asylum application. His lawyers say he is not a terrorist. He was trying to flee his war-ravaged country.

Federal sources say this sentencing hearing is unusual and could go until Friday.

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