An Indian-origin former US citizen has had his naturalisation revoked after a federal court found that he concealed a violent rape and kidnapping while applying for citizenship.
Gurmeet Singh, 55, a former taxi driver, was convicted in New York of kidnapping and raping a female passenger at knifepoint in 2011. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison following his conviction in 2014, according to the US Department of Justice.
The Justice Department said Singh concealed the attack during his naturalisation proceedings and became a US citizen in October 2011, only months after the incident.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said Singh was no longer a US citizen following the court’s decision.
“Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a US citizen,” Blanche said, adding that Singh had concealed the rape and kidnapping during the naturalisation process.
“This department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalisation referrals,” he said.
SINGH’S IMMIGRATION HISTORY
Singh, originally from India, entered the United States in February 1992 as a visitor and was initially authorised to remain for no more than six months.
He subsequently stayed in the country without authorisation for several years before obtaining permanent resident status in June 2000 through a family-based immigrant visa petition, according to the Justice Department.
In May 2011, shortly before submitting his application for US citizenship, Singh was working as a taxi driver.
According to court records cited by the Justice Department, he picked up a female passenger who fell asleep during the journey to her home.
When she woke up, Singh was allegedly on top of her with a knife pressed against her throat. Prosecutors said he restrained, gagged and blindfolded the woman before sexually assaulting her.
The victim eventually escaped from the taxi and sought help from a person on the street.
CITIZENSHIP OBTAINED AFTER ATTACK
The Justice Department said Singh did not disclose the crime during his naturalisation proceedings and subsequently became a US citizen in October 2011.
He was later convicted in New York of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping as a sexually motivated felony. He received a 20-year prison sentence.
His criminal conviction ultimately led to the federal government’s denaturalisation case.
FEDERAL COURT REVOKES NATURALISATION
On August 26, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a judgment revoking Singh’s naturalisation, the Justice Department said.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said Singh had obtained the benefits of citizenship by concealing serious criminal conduct.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr for the Eastern District of New York said the ruling demonstrated the government’s determination to pursue denaturalisation cases where the evidence and law support such action.
“The court’s judgment, which requires the defendant to surrender his wrongfully obtained citizenship, sends a strong message to those who obtain citizenship through deceit,” Nocella said.
The Justice Department said it would continue pursuing denaturalisation referrals involving citizenship allegedly obtained through fraud or concealment, where permitted under US law.
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