A Kosovo-born man who says he spent years working with US intelligence agencies on counterterrorism operations has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Blerim Skoro, 55, was arrested by ICE on 3 August in Newark, New Jersey, according to an ICE spokesperson. He remains in custody “pending removal from the United States”.

Skoro told The Times from an ICE detention facility that he had worked with the CIA on operations targeting al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) networks. “I worked for the CIA and did all these things for this nation and now I’m here,” he said.

He said he was detained while attending a scheduled appointment to renew his immigration documents. “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,” he said.

ICE, however, says Skoro’s detention stems from longstanding immigration issues.

Why Was Blerim Skoro Detained?

Skoro was born in the former Yugoslavia and first arrived in the US in 1994, seeking asylum after leaving the Yugoslav Army, according to The Times. His cooperation with US authorities began after he was arrested on federal drug charges in 2000.

According to court documents reviewed by Newsweek, Skoro was convicted of conspiring to import heroin into the US. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Prosecutors recommended leniency, citing his cooperation with authorities. Court documents from 2002 said: “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.”

ICE said that after his conviction, it placed a detainer on Skoro while he was serving his sentence at a federal prison in Pennsylvania.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Skoro says he provided information to the FBI about other prisoners, alleged terrorists and jihadist networks. He has said that he was subsequently recruited by US agencies and later worked with the CIA overseas.

Skoro’s Alleged CIA Work

Skoro says he worked for US intelligence agencies for almost a decade, including operations in the Middle East and the Balkans. He has claimed that he infiltrated al-Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and provided intelligence that helped disrupt weapons networks, financing operations and planned attacks linked to IS.

According to CBS News, Skoro says he worked undercover for the CIA between 2007 and 2009, targeting al-Qaeda and IS networks.

Footage of him alongside armed militants was later featured in the 2024 documentary The Accidental Spy. Skoro has told The Times that his work continued after he was deported to Kosovo in 2007.

Why Was He Deported?

ICE said an immigration judge ordered Skoro removed from the US on 16 July 2007 and that he was subsequently deported. “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.

Skoro later returned to the US and joined his family. CBS News reported that he crossed the US-Canada border in 2014.

He was arrested again by immigration authorities in 2016 after using his daughter’s discounted New York City MetroCard, according to The New York Times. He spent six months in federal detention while fighting his immigration case.

In 2022, he was granted a deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture because of the danger he could face if returned to Kosovo. The decision prevented his removal to Kosovo, although it allowed him to be sent to another country.

ICE said an immigration judge in New York has since found that Skoro “has no right to remain in the country and ordered Skoro removed again.”

Skoro is currently being held at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. Speaking to CBS News from detention, he said: “I never thought they were going to betray me like this.”

He also questioned what his detention could mean for people who cooperate with US intelligence agencies. “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 lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition on 4 August, shortly after his arrest, challenging the legality of his detention.

The filing says Skoro “worked for the CIA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency over the course of nearly a decade”. It also describes him as having performed “devoted and heroic work as a United States law enforcement agent,” according to CBS News.