A Kosovo-born man who says he spent years working undercover for US intelligence and helped authorities target terrorists is now facing deportation from the United States, according to CBS News.
Blerim Skoro, a 55-year-old father of three, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on August 3 while he was at an immigration office in New Jersey to renew his paperwork, according to CBS News.
Skoro’s lawyers have gone to federal court seeking to stop his removal to Kosovo. They argue that the government had previously protected him from deportation because of the danger he could face there after his alleged work for US agencies.
Arrested While Renewing Immigration Papers
Skoro’s wife, Susan, was with him when he was arrested at the New Jersey immigration office. She said ICE officers quickly moved in after he checked in at the front desk.
“They betrayed him. He’s done his time. He almost lost his life, and nobody gives a s**t. He deserves a pardon,” she said.
“He can’t get deported anywhere safely. We’re always looking over our shoulders,” she added.
Skoro, who now works as a cab driver in Staten Island, has an American wife and children. His lawyers say he was effectively promised a chance to remain in the US because of the work he carried out for American law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
From Drug Trafficker To Government Informant
Skoro’s relationship with US authorities reportedly began after he was arrested for trafficking heroin in 2000.
He had come to the US in 1994 after fleeing the conflict in Kosovo and seeking asylum. According to his account, he turned to drug trafficking while struggling to support his family.
While serving his sentence at a federal prison in Pennsylvania, Skoro says he became close to Islamic radicals. FBI records identify him as a confidential informant.
After the September 11 attacks, Skoro says the CIA saw an opportunity to use his connections.
Between 2002 and 2006, while incarcerated at FCI Allenwood, he provided information to the FBI about suspected terrorists, including people linked to the Lackawanna Six, a Virginia jihad network and Hezbollah.
Heavily redacted FBI documents from 2004 obtained by CBS News identify Skoro as an informant in an investigation connected to Osama bin Laden. The records describe some of the information he provided as “actionable” and “reliable”, including intelligence about a “Syrian training camp”.
Claims He Infiltrated Al Qaeda
Even after he left prison, his work did not end. After being deported to Kosovo in 2007, he claims the CIA asked him to infiltrate al Qaeda from the Balkans.
According to a previous legal declaration, he spent years undercover and travelled through countries including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan and Egypt. He says his assignments continued until 2009.
His lawyers say he worked with the CIA, FBI and US Drug Enforcement Administration for almost a decade, describing his service as “devoted and heroic work as a United States law enforcement agent”.
Joshua Dratel, who previously represented Skoro, told CBS News that his client had spent the last decade living a “completely law-abiding, productive life with his family after a harrowing experience that he performed for the United States with great courage and skill.”
Court Previously Blocked His Deportation
He returned to the US in 2014 after claiming that his cover had been exposed and that he was shot in the leg during an assassination attempt in Kosovo. He says he subsequently re-entered the country through Canada.
ICE took custody of him in 2016 after the NYPD arrested him over his use of his daughter’s discounted public transit card.
In November 2022, a federal judge ruled that Skoro could not be deported to Kosovo under the Convention Against Torture because of the risk that he could be tortured or killed there.
However, the ruling did not give him permanent legal residency.
Now, his lawyers Rene Kathawala and Amy Greer argue that the 2022 protection means ICE cannot simply deport him without first getting permission from a judge. They filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court on August 4, a day after his latest arrest.
“I never thought they were going to betray me like this,” he told CBS News from the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. “Please, if I die, I should die in this country so my kids can bury me.”
His case comes as the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement.
Earlier this month, ICE deported a group of Mexican nationals who had also been granted deferrals of removal under the Convention Against Torture. Their deportations followed assurances from Mexico that the individuals would not be harmed, The New York Times reported.
