DOJ: Alleged ISIS member arrested in Sacramento

The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the arrest of an alleged ISIS member in Sacramento who came into the country posing as a refugee.

Omar Ameen, a 45-year-old Iraqi national, is wanted on a murder charge in Iraq after it was alleged he killed a police officer in 2014.

A DOJ press release says after the town of Rawah fell to ISIS, Ameen and other members of the terrorist group entered the town and targeted the police officer. It is alleged that Ameen’s family members were active in installing al Queda in Iraq in Rawah and that Ameen was a member of that group as well as ISIS. 

Besides the murder, Ameen is believed to have been involved in other terrorist activities including planting improvised explosive devices.

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He fled Iraq following the 2014 murder and settled in Sacramento as a purported refugee, concealing his membership in AQI and ISIS when applying for refugee status and later for a green card, which he did not receive.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Ameen Wednesday, and he later appeared before a federal judge in connection to proceedings to extradite him back to Iraq to face trial on the murder charge. 

The Trump administration has repeatedly cited security concerns with the refugee process’ screening as a reason for restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, of which Iraq is one.

A 2017 study from New America Economy found that increased refugee resettlement in the U.S. does not correlate to higher crime.