Yet again, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has corrected far-left media propaganda about the arrest of an illegal alien, this one a Pakistani “fraudster” who might well be headed back home where he belongs.
The Seattle Times published the usual eyewash about the arrest of “U.S. veteran” Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, complete, of course, with a photo of the put-upon patriot and his family.
Far-left Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell chimed in as well about his “lawful steps” to get citizenship.
The problem: He’s a liar, a thief, and a forger, DHS reports.
The Chaudhry yarn is just the latest that DHS has had to waste valuable resources to correct.
The Sob Story
“ICE detains U.S. Army veteran in his citizenship interview,” the headline over the story about Chaudhry in the Times says.
“A U.S. Army veteran originally from Pakistan was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday morning during his citizenship interview in Tukwila,” the newspaper reported.
“It’s unclear why Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry was detained, as ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon,” the story continued:
But his wife said he has been fighting for his naturalization since the ’90s.
Actually, it’s at least a little clear, as the next paragraph shows:
The Seattle Times in 2010 reported that he was fighting deportation for pleading guilty to using a false passport and credit card in Australia, although other outlets have since reported that courts had allowed him to stay.
That doesn’t quite reveal Chaudhry’s whole criminal resumé, but in any event, Harrell chimed in when Immigration and Customs Enforcement collared the slippery fraudster:
Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry served our country and was taking the lawful steps toward citizenship. Detaining him in that process is unjust and undermines faith in the system. This administration’s immigration enforcement is targeting our neighbors, friends, and even veterans rather than focusing on real public safety threats. I stand with those calling for his release and for an immigration system that honors dignity, service, and fairness. My team remains in close contact with our Congressional delegation and will continue to advocate for Mr. Chaudhry and his family on behalf of the Seattle community.
The Truth
Responding to this nonsense, DHS offered full details about Chaudhry’s rather interesting history in the United States.
The Pakistani illegal entered the United States in 1998 on a visitor visa, DHS reports, “after he lied to the U.S. government about his criminal history in Australia.”
That history “includes five counts of financial deception, possession of stolen goods, and falsifying passports,” the DHS account continues:
Additionally, he lied about his criminal history in Australia in order to obtain a green card in the U.S. and subsequently been denied citizenship twice — dating back to 2008, and then he applied for citizenship eight more times while continuing to lie and provide false information to immigration authorities.
Beyond that, he lied about being deployed to Iraq, and he finagled $449,459.82 from the Veterans Affairs Department Veteran’s Benefits Administration, the DHS account continues. He owes Uncle Sam $81,080 for the VBA mortgage reduction grant, but hasn’t paid a dime.
He has been fighting a final order of removal since 2008.
The courts have repeatedly ruled against Chaudhry, DHS continued, finding that he’s a first-class conman:
In 2010’s Chaudhry v. Napolitano, the Court made the following observations on the review of Chaudhry’s first Application for Naturalization, N-400 denial: “This Court finds that a disturbing pattern of deceit for immigration-related purposes permeates this case. The Court rejects Chaudhry’s attempts to create a genuine issue by claiming memory lapses and making conclusory protestations of innocence.”
In 2012’s Chaudhry v. Astrue the Court upheld the adverse credibility determinations for the denial of Social Security benefits by the District Court, citing in part: “Chaudhry’s non-prescribed use of a wheelchair and unwarranted use of a cane also factored into the ALJ’s determination that Chaudhry’s subjective expression of his limitations lacked credibility.”
In 2020, the Board of Immigration Appeals said Chaudhry’s repeated deceptions and propensity for prevarication make “him undesirable as a potential lawful resident of this country.” The board cited his “habitual abuse of our legal institutions.”
More Media Lies
But the Chaudhry story is just one of many half-truths and outright lies from the hate-Trump media that DHS has corrected.
As The New American reported on Tuesday, Face The Nation bowdlerized DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s remarks about Salvadoran illegal Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a dangerous MS-13 terror gang member, wife beater, and human-smuggling suspect. The program edited her description of Garcia’s crimes.
DHS was forced to correct CNN’s account about ICE arrresting “community pillars,” while The New York Times yammered about DHS’s deporting a convicted murderer.
Indeed, the Times is a repeat offender.
It took up the cause of a deported Tren de Aragua terror-gang member with this headline: “ICE Deported Him. His Father Heard Nothing for Months. Then, a Call. Merwil Gutièrrez is one of many immigrants across the United States who have been taken into custody by federal authorities, their whereabouts unknown or unclear.”
Gutièrrez is not an “immigrant.” He is an illegal alien.
Before that, the Times falsely claimed that ICE had arrested an illegal-alien reporter, Mario Guevara, because he covered a far-left protest against the Trump administration.
That, too, was false. As DHS reported on X, Guevara “was arrested by Dekalb County, Georgia police for willful obstruction after he refused to comply with local police orders to move out of the middle of the street.”
He has lived in the United States illegally since 2004.
