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North Jersey Pols Demand Apology From White House After NJ Mayor Turned Away During Ramadan

A consortium of mayors throughout North Jersey are demanding an apology from the White House to Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah after he was denied entry for a celebration marking the end of Ramadan.

Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah

Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah

Photo Credit: Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah Facebook

Khairullah, who was recently sworn in for his fifth term as mayor, was told by Secret Service Monday, May 1 that he had not been cleared for entry. 

Khairullah received the news just hours before he was set to arrive. Khairullah was also recently interrogated for three hours at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"As mayors who value transparency and the U.S. legal system of due process, we urge you to provide Mayor Khairullah with substantive reasons as to why he was denied admission," the letter reads. "We also ask you to issue a formal apology to Mayor Khairullah...and to extend another invitation to him to meet with President Biden to proudly represent his constituents."

The letter also claims Khairullah is unlawfully on an FBI watchlist. Since the incident, the Secret Service would only confirm that Khairullah was denied entry to the White House.

"While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening," said Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for United States Secret Service at the time. 

The letter was signed by Mayors Mike Pagan of Teaneck, Keith Kazmark of Woodland Park, Steven Fulop of Jersey City, William Kubofick of Prospect Park, Chris Vergano of Wayne, Ravi Bhalla of Hoboken, James Damiano of Little Falls, Randy George of North Haledon, Richard Rigoglioso, Andre Sayegh of Paterson, Sheena Collum of South Orange, John Lane of Hawthorne, John Labrosse, Jr. of Hackensack, Kurt Peluso of Fair Lawn and Tedd Green of East Orange.

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