Convicted Rapist Loses U.S. Citizenship—The Shocking Story Behind It

An India-born cab driver sentenced to 20 years behind bars for kidnapping and raping a woman at knifepoint in 2011 has had his citizenship revoked, the Justice Department confirmed Monday.

Gurmeet Singh, now 55, was convicted in 2014 of the violent sexual assault of his young female passenger, who fell asleep as he drove her to her East Village apartment after picking her up from Williamsburg in May 2011, weeks before he filed his naturalization application.

According to a victim impact statement read by prosecutors at Singh’s sentencing, the woman woke up to find the cabbie on top of her and holding a knife against her throat, asking her if she wanted to live.

Singh threatened the victim, bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes and raped her, after which she fled his taxi on foot and flagged down passerby for help.

The Justice Department said Singh “concealed these acts” throughout his naturalization proceedings, becoming a US citizen on Oct. 19, 2011.

“Singh unlawfully obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship by concealing horrible criminal acts,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

“The Department will continue to protect the integrity of the citizenship process and hold accountable those who defraud our immigration system.”

Singh initially entered the US in February 1992 as a temporary visitor on a six-month visa. He stayed in the country without authorization for years until a visa petition by his family allowed him to become a permanent resident in June 2000.

He is currently incarcerated at Shawangunk Correctional Facility, a maximum-security facility in Wallkill, which also houses “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz.

Singh is currently set to be released in February 2029, at which point the Department of Homeland Security will make the final call on whether to deport him

An order issued last week by Brooklyn federal judge Nicholas Garaufis gives Singh until Sept. 16 to hand over his citizenship documents, including his naturalization certificate and US passport.

“American citizenship is not a shield for criminals. Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a U.S. citizen. He concealed a rape and kidnapping during the naturalization process, and a federal court has now revoked his citizenship,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“This Department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalization referrals. Fraudulently obtained citizenship will not protect criminals from justice.”