The American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition "on behalf of Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, who was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004. His arrest came as federal authorities unsealed an indictment" which charged that Hamdan worked for a charity that provided millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The petition, however, states that "there is not one shred of evidence in support of the government's argument that Hamdan poses a danger to national security [and that the government] never even attempted to prove Hamdan raised funds with the intent to further terrorist activity."

Interestingly, "Hamdan's wife said she would accompany her husband if he was deported but would let her six U.S.-born children decide whether to go or stay. 'I am a foreigner, but these are American-born kids. They can hardly speak Arabic. How are they going to fit in an Arab country? We are an American family who happens to be Muslim.'"