Ex-Mount Aloysius student from Yemen to be deported after pleading guilty to making false visa statements

David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 15—A foreign-born former Mount Aloysius student accused of lying about his ties to an anti-American militia in Yemen is being deported to his home country after admitting he made false statements to retain his student visa paperwork in 2018.

Gaafar Mohammed Ebrahim al-Wazer, 26, a Yemeni national permitted to attend school and live in Altoona until his 2019 arrest, pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements to a Department of Homeland Security field office during his visa renewal process in 2018.

While al-Wazer claimed he took no side in an ongoing, violent conflict in his home country, investigators discovered memes and posts on his Facebook page that appeared to show him carrying an assault rifle at a military-style training camp.

"Death to all Americans, especially Jews," the post read.

Al-Wazer was permitted to live in Pennsylvania as a college student and, over the span of several years, attended Drexel University and later worked as an Uber driver after transferring to Mount Aloysius.

He was under federal surveillance for years due to some of his Facebook postings and was arrested after he abruptly withdrew his paperwork to retain legal immigration status and attempted to schedule a White House visit in 2019, investigators told the U.S. District Court at the time.

But prosecutors said the FBI investigators found no evidence that al-Wazer posed any sort of an "operational" threat to U.S. Security, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson Thayer Jr., told the U.S. District Judge Juan Sanchez that al-Wazer's sentence was satisfied by time served — but he still needed to be held accountable for lying to federal officers.

"The integrity of the United States' immigration system relies in the first instance on the truthfulness of those seeking the benefits of the system's various programs," they wrote in an April 7 memorandum. "Truthful answers from an applicant, be they written answers on a benefit application, or oral answers during a related in-person interview, are critical to USCIS' adjudication process, as its officials assess an applicant's qualifications and eligibility for that benefit.

"Nevertheless, (al-Wazer) knowingly lied when asked a question, the answer to which was capable of influencing USCIS' ultimate decision whether to renew his TPS status."

Sanchez ordered al-Wazer submit DNA as part of his sentencing and said he will remain under court supervision for the next three years.

Sanchez also indicated that steps were in place for al-Wazer to be transferred to the custody of federal agents to be flown to Oman, which borders his homeland in Yemen.

Al-Wazer is prohibited from returning to the United States unless he can receive written permission from the U.S. Attorney General, the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement officer, Sanchez added.

David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TDDavidHurst.