December 14, 2007

International war criminal ordered removed from the United States
Man attempted to enter U.S. without revealing alleged human rights violations

TACOMA - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced that an international fugitive alleged to have committed war crimes in Bosnia while serving in the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) in the early 1990s has been ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge.

Bozo Jozepovic, 41, a naturalized Canadian citizen who was born in Bosnia (formerly part of Yugoslavia), attempted to enter Washington state from Canada in May 2006 and again in June 2006. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers denied him entry both times based on information contained in law enforcement databases identifying him as a human rights violator and former member of the HVO.

During interviews with CBP officers, Jozepovic falsely stated that he had never served in the HVO. However, international court documents link Jozepovic to membership in the HVO and its ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s. Specifically, he is identified as a participant in the brutal killing of seven Bosnian Muslim men in the village of Poljani in June 1993. As a result of his documented involvement in these killings, his name appears in a law enforcement database of accused war criminals.

Following his June 2006 attempt to enter the United States, CBP officers served Jozepovic with a notice to appear before an U.S. immigration judge. He was charged with human rights abuse, fraud and attempting to immigrate to the United States without a visa.

On October 12, 2007, Jozepovic appeared before an immigration judge in Blaine, Wash. Following the hearing, he was arrested by CBP officers and taken into ICE custody. Jozepovic was held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash., pending the outcome of his immigration court proceedings.

"Today's ruling is a reminder that individuals who have terrorized people in other countries and then sought safety and anonymity in the United States are a target for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security," said Dorothy Stefan, chief counsel for ICE in Seattle. "ICE remains committed to ensuring that human rights violators are not allowed to remain in this country."

"The vigilance of CBP officers at our ports of entry has prevented an international fugitive from gaining safe haven in the United States," said Michele James, CBP Seattle field office director. "We will maintain that vigilance at our borders against all threats to our security."

Based on the fraud charge, Jozepovic will be banned for life from legally returning to the United States.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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