Former CIA Informant Facing Deportation After Assisting U.S. Terrorism Cases
ICE detained Kosovo-born Blerim Skoro, who claims he spied for the CIA and helped capture al Qaeda affiliates, and is now moving to deport him despite a 2022 court order deferring removal.
Blerim Skoro, a Kosovo-born father of three who works as a cab driver in Staten Island, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a New Jersey immigration office while renewing his paperwork. Skoro asserts that after being recruited as a confidential informant while serving a drug sentence, the CIA used him to infiltrate al Qaeda and other extremist groups, supplying actionable intelligence that contributed to the arrests of members of al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Hezbollah and a Brooklyn-based terrorist.
In 2022 a federal judge barred his removal on the ground that deportation would likely result in torture, but did not grant him permanent residency. ICE’s latest action bypassed the required judicial review, prompting his attorneys to file an amended habeas corpus petition demanding court permission before any deportation. His wife, Susan Skoro, who witnessed the arrest, said the government had betrayed a man who risked his life for the United States. The dispute highlights the tension between immigration enforcement and the protection owed to former intelligence assets under the Convention Against Torture.
Why it matters
The case tests whether the U.S. will honor protections for former informants when immigration agencies pursue deportation.
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