FARGO, N.D.
A former North Dakota State College of Science basketball player from Algeria who pleaded guilty to racking up thousands of dollars in international phone bills on a school-issued calling card now faces deportation.
Touhumi Ghazoul, 21, who was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol in late April, was being held in the Elk River, Minn., jail.
Ghazoul pleaded guilty in February to misdemeanor theft of property for making calls on the school calling card last summer. He spent 10 days in jail with the rest of a one-year sentence suspended and was ordered to repay more than $36,000. His lawyer, Don Krassin, has said that Ghazoul did not understand the long-distance rates.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency considers a theft conviction with a one-year sentence an aggravated felony, spokesman Tim Counts said. Under federal law, someone with a temporary visa who is convicted of an aggravated felony is deported and does not have the right to a hearing, he said.
“You’re welcome to come to the United States as a guest, but if you commit crimes in this country, the deal is off, you go home,” Counts said.
Krassin said he thought that if Ghazoul pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, he would not be deported.
