Judge strips illegal immigrant of citizenship
Oct. 27—CONCORD — A federal judge has taken the unusual step of stripping the citizenship of a New Hampshire man who has lived in the country for 28 years.
Sheikh Enamur Rahman, who currently lives in New Hampshire with his son, is also subject to a deportation order from years ago.
Rahman moved to New York City from Bangladesh in 1994 on a non-immigrant visa, according to a lengthy court order issued by District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro.
Rahman engaged lawyers with the hopes of securing work authorization. According to the ruling, he followed the advice of lawyers, changed his name and applied for asylum. He obtained a New York driver license and eventually a passport. But he was eventually caught; his first lawyer was indicted for filing more than 5,000 fraudulent immigration applications.
By 1997, Rahman agreed to voluntary deportation. But he then moved to Atlanta, obtained a Georgia driver license under his true name and later married a U.S. citizen.
He obtained permanent legal status in 2004, and in 2007 he became a U.S. citizen. During various interviews and on applications, he did not disclose his use of a false name in New York or the deportation order.
According to the court order, Rahman "by all accounts, remained a citizen in good standing since his naturalization."
In 2019, however, prosecutors filed complaints against Rahman and sought his deportation. Rahman had said his misrepresentations were not willful and were made on the advice of his lawyer.
"There is no question that Rahman's failure to disclose his past name constitutes a misrepresentation (of a material fact)," Barbadoro wrote.
Barbardoro revoked Rahman's citizenship and canceled his certificate of naturalization. He ordered Rahman to hand over any papers indicating his citizenship within 10 days.
