Judge to consider return for woman who joined ISIS

Hoda Muthana's family sought expedited action on her suit

Hassan Shibly, lawyer for 24-year-old Hoda Muthana, poses in his office in Tampa, Florida, on February 20, 2019. The United States said Wednesday it would refuse to take back Muthana, a US-born Islamic State propagandist, who wants to return from Syria, saying that she is no longer a citizen. "Ms. Hoda Muthana is not a US citizen and will not be admitted into the United States," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a terse statement. / AFP / Gianrigo MARLETTA

The US determined Hoda Muthana wasn't a citizen because her father was a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in New Jersey. Her lawyer, Hassan Shibly, says he was no longer a diplomat at the time. AFP

Associated Press
Feb 27, 2019
Powered by automated translation

A federal judge in Washington has agreed to move quickly on a lawsuit filed by a former Alabama woman who joined ISIS and wants to return to the United States.

The family of 24-year-old Hoda Muthana filed suit last week against the Trump administration after the government said she wasn't a citizen and wouldn't be allowed to enter the US with her 18-month-old son.

Her family sought expedited action on her suit because Ms Muthana is now in a refugee camp in Syria.

Judge Reggie Walton granted that on Tuesday and scheduled a hearing for Monday.

The US determined Ms Muthana wasn't a citizen because her father was a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in New Jersey. But her lawyers say he was no longer a diplomat at the time.

Read More
Hassan Shibly, lawyer for Hoda Muthana, the Alabama woman who left home to join ISIS, speaks on a phone in Tampa Florida, February 20, 2019. AP
Legal questions arise after Donald Trump bars Hoda Muthana from re-entry to US
ISIS teen 'a bit shocked' after UK revokes her citizenship
Editor's picks
More from the national