A man acquitted of terrorism charges related to an alleged plot to attack the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI headquarters in Miami, will now face deportation proceedings because of his alleged participation in that plot.

Lyglenson Lemorin, 33, a permanent legal U.S. resident, was acquitted of conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda and conspiracy to levy war against the United States in December 2007.   However, an acquittal in a criminal trial does not insulate a non-citizen (such as Lemorin) from deportation.  Relying on the same facts (and a much lower burden of proof), federal authorities now seek an immigration judge’s approval to remove Lemorin’s from the United States.  Lemorin is currently in the immigration detention center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

Lemorin was charged on February 5, 2008, with conspiring to engage in terrorist activity and of being “a member of a terrorist organization,” according to allegations in immigration documents.  The documents also allege that he is likely to be involved in terrorist activity again if he remains in the U.S.

Lemorin is one of seven men accused in 2006 of conspiring to obtain funding and support for the alleged plot from a government informant posing as a member of Al Qaeda.  He is expected to testify for the defense in a new trial against the six other suspects in the “Liberty City Seven” case, which ended in a mistrial.  The defendants, five U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident, will be re-tried on all terrorism charges.  If convicted, the defendants face up to 70 years in prison.  

Lemorin has lived legally in the U.S. since he was 11 years old, but never became a U.S. citizen.