His detention in Havre, Montana, on April 1, 2003, apparently due to ethnic profiling, led eventually to an apology and compensation from the United States Department of Justice.

Habeeb's father, a prominent business and community leader among Iraq's Rabia tribe, had been a supporter of the old Hashemite monarchy; he was killed in 1999.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington (ACLU-W), "[d]uring that time, he was forced to strip naked in front of a government agent and was humiliated by other detainees who called him 'Saddam.'"

Through the ACLU Seattle attorney Jesse Wing and others represented Habeeb on a pro bono basis, bringing suit on his behalf against the government for wrongful arrest and detention.

[4] On June 13, 2007, Jeffrey Sullivan (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington) gave Habeeb a formal statement that "the United States of America acknowledges that, by not registering under NSEERS, you did nothing wrong.