U.S. immigration authorities have arrested Marwan Marou, a 54-year-old Muslim leader in Dallas, Texas, on charges related to alleged donations he made decades ago to a group later designated as supporting terrorism by the government.
According to ICE, Marwan Marou is facing deportation after being charged with lacking a valid entry document initially and subsequently receiving notices for solicitation of funds for a “Tier III undesignated terrorist organization” and providing “material support” to terrorism. His lawyer has indicated that he entered the United States in 2009 on a non-immigrant visa, allowing him to stay until February 2011.
The arrest is linked to his past donations to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), which was shut down by federal prosecutors in 2008 and convicted of being a Hamas front group. Marou’s lawyer argues that the charges are baseless under current legal interpretations, claiming no conviction exists for his actions from the 1990s.
This case also connects to his brother-in-law, Ghassan Elashi, who was convicted in relation to the Holy Land Foundation trial years ago and is considered part of a network supporting terrorism according to the government’s stance. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called for Marou’s release following his arrest.
Gov. Greg Abbott expressed support for immigration officials, stating: “Get this guy, and any others who support terrorist organizations, out of our country!”