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Man on terrorism watch list faces deportation over pot

HOLLYWOOD - The manager of a Middle Eastern restaurant, who was taken into custody because his name turned up on terrorist watch list, is now facing deportation to his native Egypt because he bought a small amount of marijuana in 1999.

Police arrested Basuyouy Mamdouh Ebaid, 44, in February after they say he sold liquor to minors. Officers ran his name through a computer database, which listed him as a possible terrorist because he was overheard allegedly praising Osama bin Laden and suicide bombers.

Ebaid, who came to the United States 21 years ago on a student visa, has since been held at the Krome Detention Center and faces a deportation hearing today. He applied for legal residency three years ago, but it's still pending. He is married with two children.

He has not been charged with any terrorist-related crimes, but federal officials want him deported because he pleaded guilty in 1999 in Miami-Dade Circuit Court to purchasing and possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana for his personal use.

He was sentenced to time served, one day, and the judge withheld his conviction, so in the state's eye, he is not a felon. But under federal law, the marijuana purchasing conviction is an aggravated felony, which means he can be deported.

Ebaid's lawyers are trying to stop his deportation because they argue he would face persecution in his homeland after being branded as a "terrorist" in the United States.

[Last modified July 11, 2005, 01:00:09]