A federal judge in New York has stripped convicted rapist Gurmeet Singh of his American citizenship after finding he lied about committing a violent sex crime during his immigration process.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York finalized the judgment revoking Singh’s naturalization on Aug. 26. The decision stems from a civil complaint filed by the Justice Department on Feb. 2, which proved that Singh hid a kidnapping and rape when applying to become an American citizen.
“American citizenship is not a shield for criminals,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a U.S. citizen. He concealed a rape and kidnapping during the naturalization process, and a federal court has now revoked his citizenship. This Department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalization referrals. Fraudulently obtained citizenship will not protect criminals from justice.”
Singh, who was born in India, first arrived in the United States in February 1992 on a temporary visitor visa good for six months. He stayed in the country without legal status for eight years until June 2000, when he obtained a green card through a family-based immigration petition.
In May 2011, Singh was driving a taxicab when a female passenger fell asleep during a ride home. Just weeks before he filed his official naturalization paperwork, Singh drove the woman to a secluded area. When she woke up, Singh was on top of her holding a knife to her throat. He threatened the victim, gagged and bound her, put a blindfold over her eyes, stripped off her clothes, and raped her. She eventually managed to flee the vehicle at dawn and found someone on the street who helped her call authorities.
Singh kept the entire incident secret on his immigration paperwork and throughout the vetting process, taking the oath to become a naturalized citizen on Oct. 19, 2011. New York prosecutors subsequently tried and convicted Singh of first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping as a sexually motivated felony. He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for those crimes.
“Singh unlawfully obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship by concealing horrible criminal acts,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to protect the integrity of the citizenship process and hold accountable those who defraud our immigration system.”
Under federal law, applicants must demonstrate good moral character and disclose all criminal conduct when seeking naturalization, even if an arrest has not yet occurred. Because Singh committed the acts before filing and concealed them during his background reviews, the government had grounds to revoke his status.
“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, and demonstrates the Administration’s resolve to pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York.
The denaturalization case was handled by Trial Attorney Christopher Lyerla of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Layaliza Soloveichik for the Eastern District of New York.
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