QAMISHLI, SYRIA: A woman who left her Alabama home at age 20 and joined the Islamic State group, where she later had a child with one of its fighters, says she still aspires to return to the country, possibly go to jail, and fight against extremism.
Hoda Muthana said she was brainwashed into joining the group in 2014 by online traffickers while speaking from the Roj detention camp in Syria, where US-allied Kurdish forces are holding her. Hoda Muthana said she regrets everything except for her young son.
Joe Biden is being urged by her attorney to 'do the right thing'
Joe Biden is being urged by her attorney to "do the right thing" and return the woman to the US, where she was born. According to the US government, "she is not and never was a US citizen." Muthana, who was born to Yemeni immigrants in New Jersey, once held a US passport. Her upbringing was in Hoover, Alabama. She pretended to be going on a school trip when, in reality, she was fleeing to Syria in 2014.
Her citizenship was revoked by the Obama administration in 2016, claiming that her father had been a recognized Yemeni diplomat at the time of her birth. This was a rare case of birthright citizenship being revoked. That action has been contested by her attorneys, who contend that the father's diplomatic credentials expired before she was born, as per reports.
Muthana has been unable to enter the US since leaving ISIS
Muthana has been unable to enter the US since leaving ISIS. The issue with Muthana is her citizenship status, which is in dispute, even though the US does allow terrorists to return to the country so they can face justice.
Her most recent legal problem started when the Supreme Court decided not to take her case, a decision made without giving a reason in great detail. The government has revoked Muthana's passport because it was obtained improperly, but it has yet to formally change her citizenship status, according to the court's official communication.
The Supreme Court maintains that Hoda must prove that she is a citizen of the United States. Still, her attorney, Christina Jump, asserts that she has already provided the necessary proof of her client's citizenship to the Department of Justice, as reported by The express.
'Hoda Muthana is not a US citizen..'
The US State Department has concurred with these submissions, "The Department has not changed its position with regards to Ms Muthana’s citizenship status. Hoda Muthana is not a US citizen. As the State Department determined and the courts agreed, she is not and never was a US citizen. For privacy reasons, we are not able to provide further comment."
