The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday (local time) revoked the citizenship of Gurmeet Singh, an Indian-origin man convicted of rape.
According to a Justice Department release, the US District Court for the Eastern District of entered a judgment revoking the naturalisation of convicted rapist Gurmeet Singh.
Who is Gurmeet Singh?
Singh, who was born in , arrived in the US in February 1992 on a visitor visa that permitted him to stay for up to six months. He remained in the country beyond the authorised period for several years before a family-sponsored immigrant visa petition enabled him to obtain permanent residency in June 2000.
What is the case against Gurmeet Singh?
Weeks before he filed his application to become a in May 2011, Singh, a taxi driver at the time, drove a female passenger who had fallen asleep during her ride home to a location with no witnesses. When the passenger awoke, she found Singh on top of her with a knife against her throat. He threatened her, bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes, and her. Afterwards, the victim escaped from the cab and ran to someone on the street at dawn for help.
Now 55, Singh was convicted in 2014 of the violent sexual assault of a young female passenger as he drove her to her East Village apartment after picking her up from Williamsburg.
According to the DOJ, the accused concealed these acts throughout his naturalisation proceedings, leading to his becoming a US citizen on 19 October 2011. After naturalising, Singh was convicted in of rape in the first degree and kidnapping in the second degree as a sexually motivated felony and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He is currently serving his sentence at Shawangunk Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Wallkill that also holds “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz, the New York Post reported.
Singh is scheduled for release in February 2029, after which the Department of Homeland Security () will decide whether he should be deported.
A Brooklyn federal judge, Nicholas Garaufis, issued an order last week giving Singh until 16 September to surrender his citizenship documents, including his naturalisation certificate and US passport.
What did US officials and lawyers say about Singh’s case?
Attorney General said, “American citizenship is not a shield for criminals,” and added, “Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a U.S. citizen. He concealed a rape and kidnapping during the naturalization process, and a federal court has now revoked his citizenship. This Department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalization referrals. Fraudulently obtained will not protect criminals from justice.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said, “Singh unlawfully obtained the privileges of US citizenship by concealing horrible criminal acts.” Shumate added that the DOJ will continue to protect the integrity of the citizenship process and hold accountable those who defraud our immigration system.
