Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an illegal alien who snuck into the country and is wanted for murder in Colombia, the agency said Monday.
Authorities arrested the Colombian national Dec. 27 after he was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2011, ICE said, adding that it learned of his fugitive status Jan. 10. Local law enforcement in New Jersey previously arrested the illegal alien for simple assault and making terroristic threats, but it’s unclear why ICE didn’t take him into custody at the time as the agency didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Venezuelan Gang Member Accused Of Kidnapping, Strangling Florida Man To Death Was In US Illegally)
The individual failed to return to from a three-day furlough in 2018 to serve the completion of his sentence in Colombia before he fled the country, according to ICE.
NEW YORK – APRIL 30: Members of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency keep watch over demonstrators protesting against a new Arizona law on April 30, 2010 outside of a government building which houses ICE in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“This is clearly a case of an individual with a very dangerous criminal history who poses a threat to the community,” ICE Enforcement Removal Operations Newark Field Office Director John Tsoukaris said in a statement Monday.
“Beyond the committed efforts of our officers, I’d like to thank U.S. Customs and Border Protection of New York/Newark, Office of Field Operations, for their assistance with the investigation that helped lead to the subject’s arrest,” Tsoukaris said.
The individual will be held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, the agency said.
ICE made roughly 3,000 criminal arrests in fiscal year 2023 after more than 2,200 in fiscal year 2022 and roughly 2,300 in fiscal year 2021, according to agency statistics.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.