Judge wants speed in citizenship case

DENVER, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Colorado says he may personally take action on a Palestinian immigrant’s citizenship application.

Zuhair Mahd, who is blind, passed his citizenship test in 2004. He went to court because of delays in acting on his request for citizenship, The Denver Post reported.

U.S. District Judge Walker Miller ordered the FBI to produce written proof within 10 days that a background check has been done. He said he might rule on Mahd’s request for citizenship, rather than leave it to the Department of Homeland Security.

"This man's been waiting since 2004," Miller said. "This man has rights."

Mahd, a computer programmer, came to the United States from Jordan as a teenager and has been in the country legally for 17 years. He is representing himself in court.

A federal prosecutor argued that Miller has no jurisdiction over citizenship decisions.