Mohammad Ahmad Hasan Qatanani and his family were faced with deportation from the United States because he allegedly failed to disclose in a green card application that he was a member of Hamas, an organization regarded by the U.S. and the European Union as terrorist; officials were relying on a report that Israeli forces had arrested and convicted him as a Hamas member in 1993.

[1] He further contends that he was convicted in absentia and faced severely harsh interrogation tactics that Israel's highest court subsequently banned as torture.

[3] Following an extended period of motions, litigation and review, a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals returned the case to the same judge's court in December 2016 for relitigation on the original action.

[5] Qatanani lived in a Palestinian refugee camp until he finished high school (1982) and received a scholarship to study at the College of Amman, located in Jordan.

The Department of Homeland Security was unable to provide substantial evidence that Qatanani was arrested, convicted, fined, charged or imprisoned.

Qatanani became the Imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC) in Paterson, New Jersey, the second largest Muslim community in the U.S..

Qatanani contends that he never received word of any charges or convictions against him during his three months in police custody, and therefore was not lying on the immigration form.

[17] The Judge noted that the records obtained by Homeland Security officials from the Israelis were "too unreliable to prove that Mr. Qatanani has engaged in terrorist activities.

"[18] The lead government attorney drew criticism for reading passages from the Quran that indicated that God will cause unbelievers to "increase in illness."