ERO Philadelphia removes fugitive noncitizen to Czech Republic
PHILADELPHIA - Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia removed Iva Masinova, a citizen of the Czech Republic with a final order of removal, on Sept. 7. Law enforcement authorities in the Czech Republic are looking for Masinova for fraud, bodily harm and breach of the public peace.
“Time and again we see fugitives from foreign countries coming to the U.S. to avoid justice in their home countries. ERO and HSI Philadelphia officers and agents work tirelessly to identify and arrest these criminals, often hand-in-hand.” said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley. “The joint efforts of our agencies help to ensure the safety of the American public.”
On Jan. 16, 2020, Masinova entered the United States as a nonimmigrant and violated the terms of her admission.
In Dec. 2020, the District Court for Kolin, Czech Republic, convicted Masinova in absentia of fraud, bodily harm and breach of the public peace and sentenced her to incarceration for three years and nine months.
On Sep. 14, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia and ERO Philadelphia identified and arrested Masinova outside her residence in Philadelphia and transferred her to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center for removal. On Jan. 30, 2023, an immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) within the Department of Justice denied Masinova’s immigration applications and ordered her removed. Masinova filed an appeal with the Board of immigration Appeals (BIA), which the BIA dismissed.
EOIR is a separate entity from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal. Once a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers may carry out the removal.
As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.
For more updates on noncitizens being removed from the community in the interest of public safety, follow ERO Philly on Twitter at @EROPhiladelphia.
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