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ICE removes & deported 875 criminal aliens from 5-state area during month of August

September 18, 2006

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention and removal officers deported 875 criminal aliens in August to their respective countries of origin.

All of those deported were detained in ICE facilities in a five-state area that included Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Among the deported was Friyz Edme, 39, of Haiti, who was an aggravated felon. Edme had numerous criminal convictions including assault, sexual assault, and rape. He was removed to his native country of Haiti.

Also deported was 45-year-old Bernard Zacharias Grant, from Granada, who was an aggravated felon. Grant had 19 separate charges and convictions including possession of stolen property; criminal possession of a weapon; reckless endangerment; burglary; assault with intent to cause physical harm and sexual abuse. He was removed to his native country of Grenada.

The offenses of the criminal aliens removed included: drug possession and distribution; assault on a police officer; sex offenses; aggravated assault, attempted murder and rape.

Those deported represent the following countries: Mexico, Colombia, Haiti, Nigeria, Slovakia, and Lebanon.

"We will continue to fulfill our congressional mandate by deporting those ordered removed from our country, especially those who have committed egregious offenses against our citizens," said Acting Field Office Director Steve Boll, who leads ICE's detention and removal efforts in New Orleans. "Every deportation helps to restore integrity to our nation's immigration system."

Criminal aliens are non-citizens who have committed felonies or other crimes that make them ineligible to remain in the United States in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).