US judge orders ex-Nazi deported
Source: Agencies |
May 20, 2010, Thursday
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AN immigration judge in the United States has ordered an 85-year-old retired steelworker deported to Austria, or to any other country that will accept him, for serving as an armed Nazi death camp guard during World War II.
Anton Geiser and his attorney did not immediately return calls or e-mails for comment on the decision. Judge Charles Honeyman issued the order out of Philadelphia on Monday.
Geiser was born in what is now part of Croatia and came to the US from Austria in 1956. He has lived outside of Pittsburgh since 1960, became a citizen in 1962 and is married with three sons.
"As a Nazi concentration camp guard during World War II, Anton Geiser must be held to account for his role in the persecution of countless men, women and children," Assistant US Attorney General Lanny Breuer said. "The long passage of time will not diminish our resolve to deny refuge to such individuals."
A Department of Justice spokeswoman said Geiser is not in custody. He can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington.
Geiser has acknowledged being an armed guard who watched over and escorted prisoners at three Nazi death camps. But he has argued that his service was not voluntary and that he was therefore eligible to emigrate under the Refugee Relief Act of 1953.
Federal prosecutors have, instead, cited the 1978 Holtzman Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude citizenship and deport "aliens who persecuted any person on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or political opinion, under the direction of the Nazi government of Germany."
Anton Geiser and his attorney did not immediately return calls or e-mails for comment on the decision. Judge Charles Honeyman issued the order out of Philadelphia on Monday.
Geiser was born in what is now part of Croatia and came to the US from Austria in 1956. He has lived outside of Pittsburgh since 1960, became a citizen in 1962 and is married with three sons.
"As a Nazi concentration camp guard during World War II, Anton Geiser must be held to account for his role in the persecution of countless men, women and children," Assistant US Attorney General Lanny Breuer said. "The long passage of time will not diminish our resolve to deny refuge to such individuals."
A Department of Justice spokeswoman said Geiser is not in custody. He can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington.
Geiser has acknowledged being an armed guard who watched over and escorted prisoners at three Nazi death camps. But he has argued that his service was not voluntary and that he was therefore eligible to emigrate under the Refugee Relief Act of 1953.
Federal prosecutors have, instead, cited the 1978 Holtzman Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude citizenship and deport "aliens who persecuted any person on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or political opinion, under the direction of the Nazi government of Germany."
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