Watchdog group sues DHS over pro-terror official

A government watchdog group is suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over its refusal to provide information about its employment of an pro-terror official.

Who is Nejwa Ali?

In 2016 and 2017, Nejwa Ali served as a spokeswoman for the Marxist Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which created a “Palestinian Delegation to the US.” President Donald Trump banned the group, but she was able to find a position with the DHS in 2019 as an adjudication officer for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It has been Ali’s job to determine whether asylum seekers should be granted entry to the United States.

Following the October 7th attack in Israel, Ali expressed support on social media for the terrorists, writing, “I abso-f—ing-lutely celebrate [Palestinian hang-gliders], a–hole, f— you!” Her social media page, in which she describes herself as “American born” but “Palestinian @ heart”, contains several remarks about Jews such as: “F— Israel and any Jew that supports Israel.”

Ali gloats about remaining on US government payroll

After the Daily Wire reported Ali’s posts, DHS spokesman Matthew Bourke confirmed she was placed on paid administrative leave. But the DHS has since refused to terminate the former PLO operative despite several requests from lawmakers. 

In April, six months after October 7th, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed that Ali remains on the department’s payroll.

In the meantime, Ali gloated about her paid leave on social media. When someone commented on her page,  “When you do everything you can to get fired but the boss says NO,” Ali responded: “hilarious, seriously.” 

DHS refuses to comply with FOIA

A month after the massacre in Israel, government watchdog group Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request with the DHS regarding Ali. CASA sought records “related to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Adjudication Officer Nejwa Ali and a potential conflict of interest in administering her duties.”

The DHS acknowledged it received the FOIA request but sent no further responses and did not provide the request documents. CASA is now suing the department for violating the Freedom of Information Act. 

“DHS has not produced responsive documents to CASA, has not communicated to CASA the scope of the documents it intends to produce or withhold—along with the reasons for any such withholding—and has not informed CASA of its ability to appeal any adverse portion of its determination,” says the lawsuit, obtained by the Daily Wire.

DHS refuses to tell lawmakers why Ali has not been terminated

But CASA is not the only party being rebuffed by the DHS. In October, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to answer questions by lawmakers concerning Ali. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) pressed Mayorkas in a congressional hearing about why Ali had not been terminated.

Mayorkas tried to pass the blame to President Trump, during whose administration Ali was hired, and then said “he cannot speak to an ongoing personnel matter.”

The exchange continued and Mayorkas tried to deflect the line of questioning by invoking his Holocaust survivor parent, suggesting this lent him the credentials to decide whether someone presents a threat to the Jewish people.

Ali continues pro-terror activism on government payroll

Ali has since been using her paid administrative leave to campaign for groups like Hamas. In December, she and others demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC where military officials from several countries were meeting. Ali and her associates published a video of the officials coming out of the embassy, which included representatives of the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries.

Ali posted the video to social media and called for the officials’ identities to be publicized so they could be targeted for harassment.

“I was protesting at the Israeli embassy today when this happened,” she wrote. “THIS is exactly who is supporting Israel’s apartheid and genocide of PALESTINE let’s name these a--holes!”

As of this report, the DHS has not denied that Ali remains on the federal government's payroll.