Excerpt:
Battling a government bid to deport him, the spiritual leader of one of New Jersey's largest and most diverse mosques is suing the FBI and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to force the release of any records that could bear on his ability to remain in his adopted homeland.
Mohammad Qatanani, who for the past 16 years has served as imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Newark on Friday under the Freedom of Information Act.
The suit claims the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, of which the FBI and Customs and Border Protection are components, have stonewalled his requests for records for more than five months. The suit seeks to compel the agencies to immediately search for and disclose any and all records pertaining to him.