Immigration official accused of releasing man who later committed murder

Paul Egan / The Detroit News

A future killer was among the immigrants in federal detention allegedly released illegally by former high-ranking immigration official Roy M. Bailey, officials confirmed.

Bashar Jamil Farraj, 31, identified in a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Tuesday as "B. Farraj," was allegedly released by Bailey in late 2002 after Bailey failed to carry out a deportation order for Farraj.

Farraj is now serving a 25-50 year state prison sentence for the murder of Jordanian student Faed Al-Farah in Sterling Height in 2003.

Bailey, 54, is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to release immigrants who were facing deportation and facilitate other immigration frauds, including marriage frauds involving LaShish restaurant employees.

Bailey was acting field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Detroit when he was placed on paid administrative leave in February 2004.

Bailey's lawyer, Michael Starr of Washington, D.C., said Bailey is innocent of all the charges.

Farraj had been ordered deported following other trouble with the law, including an Oakland County criminal case in 1996.

The indictment alleges Bailey released Farraj, prior to the murder, after bribes were paid to him by immigration lawyer "Namir D."

Two of the people in federal detention that Bailey is accused of releasing had already been convicted of sex offenses at the time he allegedly released them.

You can reach Paul Egan at (313) 222-2069 or pegan@detnews.com.

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