Judge Frees Imam to Fight Deportation

December 20, 2007

Author: SEAN D. HAMILL

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/20muslim.html?_r=3&ref=us&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

YORK, Pa. — An immigration judge here released an Islamic leader from Pittsburgh on $5,000 bond on Wednesday while he fights an effort to deport him to Turkey after having lived in the United States for 19 years.

The case of the imam, Kadir Gunduz, 48, has upset not only Muslim leaders, but also people of other faiths who say immigration officials have taken a hard line on visa applications for religious workers since the Sept. 11 attacks and look for small errors to start deportation proceedings.