Who is Blerim Skoro? ICE detains man who says he gave CIA intel on Al-Qaeda
Blerim Skoro, a 55-year-old Kosovan-born man who says he worked with the CIA on counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaeda and ISIS, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek that he was arrested on August 3 in Newark, New Jersey, and remains “in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.”
“I worked for the CIA and did all these things for this nation and now I’m here,” Skoro told British newspaper The Times from an ICE detention facility. He added that he was detained while renewing his immigration paperwork, “I went to the office for my scheduled appointment, I handed them my work permit and driver’s license and suddenly they were handcuffing me. It makes no sense.”
His attorneys argue that he helped American national security interests and that a prior immigration ruling requires a judge’s permission ahead of deportation, while immigration authorities say the case stems from longstanding legal issues related to his immigration status.
President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. The administration’s enforcement efforts have led to the detention of immigrants across a range of legal statuses, including some valid green card holders and visa holders, prompting legal challenges and criticism from immigration advocates.
Newsweek has reported on dozens of cases involving people who were detained after attending appointments at ICE offices, including visits to renew paperwork or complete immigration-related interviews. Administration officials have said the enforcement efforts are necessary to uphold immigration laws, arguing that previous administrations did not enforce them properly.
Newsweek has reached out to Skoro’s legal team for comment via email on Friday. Newsweek filled out a contact request form with the CIA and reached out to the respondent’s legal team via email on Saturday.
Who Is Blerim Skoro?
Skoro was born in the former Yugoslavia and lives in Staten Island, New York, with his American wife, working as a cab driver, per CBS News. He has three children. He first came to the U.S. in 1994 claiming asylum after leaving the Yugoslav Army, The Times reported.
His ties to the U.S. government date back more than two decades when a legal case led to his cooperation with federal authorities and later work with the CIA.
He was arrested in 2000 on federal drug charges. According to the court docket reviewed by Newsweek, he was ordered detention for violating 21 USC 952, for “knowingly and intentionally” conspiring to import heroin to the United States.
The New York Times reported that “he transported at least 14 kilograms of heroin and cocaine and laundered about $670,000 in drug proceeds.”
The prosecutors recommended leniency for him and noted that he provided intelligence about the city’s drug traffickers. Court documents from 2002 state that “Skoro began cooperating with the government immediately. His assistance resulted in the arrest and prosecution of several people involved in an international drug-trafficking organization.”
An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek that following his conviction, “ICE lodged a detainer against Skoro while he was serving time at a federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.”
He was sentenced to seven years, and shortly into his term he was recruited by U.S. agencies following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While incarcerated at the federal prison, he says he provided the FBI with information on other cellmates, alleged terrorists, and jihad networks.
He says after his stint as an informant, he was promised U.S. residency. In 2007, he was deported to Kosovo and continued to work for U.S. agencies while traveling around the region in various operations.
“An immigration judge (IJ) ordered SKORO removed from the United States on July 16, 2007, and he was subsequently removed. He illegally reentered the U.S. at an unknown date and location—a felony,” an ICE spokesperson told Newsweek. In 2014, he crossed the U.S.-Canada border to join his family, CBS News reported.
He was arrested in 2016 by immigration agents after using his daughter’s discounted Metro Card in the New York City subway, which led to six months in federal detention and a lengthy immigration battle, the New York Times reported.
In 2022, he was granted a deferral of removal due to the danger and risk to him if he was to go back to Kosovo under the Convention Against Torture. The ruling means he can be sent to another third country, but not Kosovo.
An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek that “an immigration judge in New York, NY found he has no right to remain in the country and ordered Skoro removed again.”
Work With U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Skoro worked for U.S. intelligence agencies for nearly a decade, he told The Times.
His work took him across the Middle East and the Balkans, where he served as an informant and, at one point, allegedly infiltrated al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan. He said intelligence he provided helped disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda to supply weapons to jihadist groups, uncover financing networks and thwart planned attacks linked to ISIS.
After leaving the U.S., he says he spent two years working undercover for the CIA from 2007-2009, seeking to infiltrate al-Qaida and ISIS networks, according to CBS News. Footage showing him alongside armed militants was later featured in the 2024 documentary The Accidental Spy.
Detention and Court Filings
“I never thought they were going to betray me like this,” Skoro said about the U.S. government in a call with CBS News from detention. He is being held in the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey.
“What message does this send to people thinking of working with the CIA? It shows you will not be protected; you will not be looked after or given safe haven. I was betrayed,” he told The Times.
His attorneys filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on August 4, shortly after his arrest, challenging the legality of his detention.
The filing states that Skoro “worked for the CIA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency over the course of nearly a decade,” and claims he performed “devoted and heroic work as a United States law enforcement agent,” CBS News reported.
The government has responded to the petition, however, the documents are sealed.
The use of federal habeas corpus petitions has surged during Trump’s second term as immigration attorneys increasingly challenge the legality of ICE detentions in federal court.
According to an analysis by ProPublica, immigration attorneys have filed more than 71,000 habeas petitions challenging their clients’ detention since January 2025—more than were filed during the previous three presidential administrations combined, including Trump’s first.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Jason Lemon and Anthony Murray.
