SAN DIEGO (AP) _ A U.S. immigration judge in San Diego has agreed to grant asylum to the son of a Hamas founder who turned his back on his father’s terrorist group and became a spy for Israel.

Wednesday’s ruling came after the federal government abruptly dropped its previously stated concerns that Mosab Hassan Yousef was a terrorist threat.

The 32-year-old Yousef argued that he would be killed if he was deported because he spied on Hamas for Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency and abandoned Islam after becoming a Christian.

Yousef says he now believes Islam is a false religion that worships a “god of hate.”

The judge ruled that Yousef can stay in the U.S. after he passes a routine background check.

Yousef says he now looks forward to celebrating the Fourth of July and becoming an American citizen.