'I never thought they would betray me': Ex-US intelligence informant, who claimed to have infiltrated Al-Qaeda, now faces deportation

Blerim Skoro, 55, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside an immigration office in New Jersey earlier this month while he was renewing his paperwork, CBS News reported.

His lawyers have filed a petition in federal court seeking to halt his deportation. They claim Skoro was promised residency after years of working as a confidential intelligence source and what they describe as a "CIA agent."

Skoro, who currently works as a cab driver in Staten Island, New York, has an American wife and children. He was reportedly granted a deferral of removal in 2022 because of concerns that he could face capture and torture by terrorists if deported.

His lawyers claim the decision was partly based on his assistance in securing the arrests of members of al Qaeda, al Shabaab and Hezbollah, according to CBS News.

'I never thought they were going to betray me'

Reacting to the deportation proceedings, Skoro told CBS News: "I never thought they were going to betray me like this."

"Please, if I die, I should die in this country so my kids can bury me," he said.

According to media reports, Skoro's relationship with US intelligence began in 2000, when he was jailed on drug-trafficking charges.

He claimed he was struggling to support his children and refugee parents after his family fled the Kosovo conflict in the 1990s.

Skoro was reportedly arrested after being caught transporting heroin overseas for an Albanian criminal gang.

Raised as a Muslim, he was welcomed by a group of Islamic radicals while serving his sentence in a Manhattan prison. FBI files identifying him as a confidential informant reportedly document his interactions with the group, CBS News reported.

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Skoro says the CIA approached him to exploit his connections.

While incarcerated at FCI Allenwood, a federal prison in Pennsylvania, from 2002 to 2006, Skoro says he provided intelligence to the FBI on suspected terrorists, including Faysal Galab of the Lackawanna Six, which federal agents described as America's first homegrown terrorist sleeper cell.

He also reportedly provided information on Randall "Ismail" Royer of the Virginia jihad network, who was convicted of organising violence against US troops overseas, and Hezbollah member Junuz Fuaz.

Heavily redacted FBI records from 2004 obtained by CBS News reportedly identify Skoro as an informant in an investigation targeting Osama bin Laden. The records describe some of the information he provided as "actionable" and "reliable", including details about a suspected Syrian training camp.

Skoro's lawyers are now seeking court intervention to prevent his deportation, arguing that his past cooperation with US authorities and the risks he could face if returned to Kosovo should be taken into account.