U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained Blerim Skoro, a Kosovo-born man who provided intelligence to U.S. agencies during the war on terror, for the purpose of deportation. Skoro’s attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court on August 4 to halt the removal, stating he was previously promised residency in exchange for his cooperation in counterterrorism investigations.
Skoro, a 55-year-old Staten Island taxi driver, has a history of cooperation with the FBI and CIA dating back to 2002. According to FBI records and legal filings, Skoro provided information on members of al Qaeda, al Shabaab, and Hezbollah while incarcerated for a 2000 drug trafficking conviction and later while operating undercover in the Middle East and Balkans. In 2022, a federal judge granted Skoro a deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, an international treaty, citing the risk that he would be captured or killed by terrorists if returned to Kosovo.
On August 3, ICE agents arrested Skoro at an immigration office in New Jersey while he was attempting to renew his paperwork. His legal team argues that the 2022 court protection requires ICE to obtain judicial permission before initiating deportation, which they claim the agency did not do. The petition filed on August 17 describes the arrest as arbitrary and argues that Skoro has led a law-abiding life with his American wife and three children for the past decade.
For the individuals involved, the scale of this policy shift involves a transition from living legally in U.S. communities to indefinite detention or removal to countries where they claim their lives are at risk. Skoro, for example, has lived in the U.S. since 2014 following his return from overseas undercover work. A person in this situation would notice a sudden loss of employment and separation from family, as Skoro was taken into custody during a routine paperwork renewal. His family has expressed concern that deportation would result in his death due to his past cooperation with U.S. intelligence.
The legal proceedings may set a precedent regarding whether executive agencies can bypass federal court deferrals without specific notice or new judicial hearings. If the government’s position is upheld, it could change the day-to-day security of others currently residing in the U.S. under withholding of removal. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kirsch has ordered the government to respond to Skoro's petition by Thursday. The CIA and FBI have not responded to requests for comment, while ICE acknowledged the request without providing a statement.