'They betrayed him': Former CIA informant who provided intelligence on bin Laden faces deportation

ByLEO FEIERBERG BETTERAUGUST 20, 2026 03:49A Kosovo-born man who says he helped the CIA apprehend multiple terrorists is at risk of being deported after his recent arrest by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Blerim Skoro was arrested earlier this month outside of an immigration center, after which his legal team filed to terminate the deportation proceedings against him, court documents showed.In a 2024 interview with The Times, Skoro said he was a supporter of US President Donald Trump and did not fear being caught up in what, at the time, was a promised crackdown on immigration.The 55 year-old father of three, Skoro, was reportedly recruited by the CIA only a day after the September 11 attacks while serving time for drug trafficking.An Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent prepares to arrest alleged undocumented immigrants in Salem, Mass., June 19, 2018. (credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)Skoro reportedly provided information on Osama Bin Laden, other terrorists“I didn’t give it a second’s thought," Skoro told The Times in the 2024 interview."I considered myself a patriot of America first and a Muslim second. I wanted to pay back this country.”At one point, CBS reported, Skoro shared a cell with the man behind the Millennium Plot, targeting the Los Angeles Airport. He also gave the FBI information on Faysal Galab, a member of the "Lackawanna Six" cell.Skoro has maintained that US authorities promised him safety in return for his information, though he was deported upon his release in 2007 despite being married to an American, CBS reported.Two days later, Skoro offered to inform for the US once again, going on to live in an al-Qaeda training camp and at one time, meeting the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, he told The Times.During this time, Skoro provided valuable intelligence to the US, including "reliable" information on Osama Bin Laden, according to FBI documents seen by CBS News.Skoro returned to the US illegally after his cover was blown and he was wounded during an assassination attempt in Kosovo, the CBS report quoted him as saying, adding that ICE first apprehended him two years later.Speaking to the outlet, Skoro said that, should he return to Kosovo, he would face mortal danger."I never thought they were going to betray me like this," he said in a phone interview from Elizabeth Detention Center, in New Jersey."Please, if I die, I should die in this country so my kids can bury me.""They betrayed him," his wife Susan told CBS News."He's done his time. He almost lost his life, and nobody gives a s**t. He deserves a pardon," she said."He can't get deported anywhere safely. We're always looking over our shoulders."Follow us on Google