An illegal immigrant with a 12-year criminal history and 35 arrests under his belt cannot be deported back to Palestine because the United States will not recognize his homeland as a country

Sofyan Eldani, who lives in Alabama, was arrested after police discovered crack cocaine in his vehicle. When officers reviewed the 45-year-old’s criminal record, they were shocked to discover that he had been arrested 35 times over a period of 12 years. Eldani has at least nine convictions, including four felonies, and has served six months in an Alabama prison for receiving stolen property. His long list of arrests includes assault, fraudulent checks, criminal mischief, resisting arrests, reckless endangerment, shoplifting, burglary, drug possession, failure to appear, probation violation, possession of a drug paraphernalia and DUI. But when Hueytown Police Chief Chuck Hagler contacted Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials they said that the convicted felon could not be deported because the United States does not recognize Palestine – his homeland – as a country. They added that other countries had also refused to take Eldani, who holds an Egyptian passport. Eldani is currently in prison on a $200,000 bond for his most recent drug trafficking charges.