Defense

Somali Refugee Accused Of Canada Terror Attack Was Ordered Deported From US

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Will Racke Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
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The Somali refugee accused of going on a terror rampage in Edmonton Saturday was ordered to be deported from the U.S. in 2011, according U.S. immigration officials.

Customs and Border Protection transferred Abdulahi Hasan Sharif to the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego in July 2011, Canada’s CBC News reported Tuesday. Two months later, an immigration judge issued an order of removal for Sharif, who waived his right to appeal the decision.

However, Sharif was released in November 2011 on an order of supervision “due to a lack of likelihood of his removal in the reasonably foreseeable future,” Jennifer Elzea, acting press secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told CBC News.

Sharif is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed an Edmonton police officer and ran down four pedestrians with a U-Haul van. Investigators discovered an Islamic State flag in Sharif’s vehicle, and Canadian authorities have called the rampage an act of terrorism. (RELATED: NHL Player Calls For Tighter Immigration Controls After Terror Attack By Somali Refugee)

Sharif crossed the border into Canada in 2012, arriving through a “regular port of entry,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Monday. He was granted refugee status later that year, after Canadian immigration authorities determined there was no reason to believe he was ineligible for asylum.

“Being detained for immigration purposes in another country would not prevent someone from being able to make an asylum claim in Canada,” a spokesperson for the Canadian immigration office told CBC News.

ICE officials say Sharif did not have a known criminal history at the time of his detention. It remains unclear how Sharif entered the U.S., though his detention at the Otay Mesa facility suggests he was apprehended by Canadian Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Under the Safe Third Country agreement between Canada and the U.S., individuals that have applied and been rejected for asylum in America are not eligible to receive asylum in Canada unless they are a minor or have family already living in the country. It is not known if Sharif made an asylum claim while in the U.S.

ICE has not responded to questions from The Daily Caller News Foundation about how Sharif arrived in the U.S. or if he had applied for asylum.

Sharif, 30, has been charged with five counts of attempted murder, four counts of criminal flight causing bodily harm, and one count each of dangerous driving and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, according to CBC News.

He remains in custody, and his next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 14.

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