ICE Detroit deports Slovenian man wanted for bank fraud
DETROIT — A Slovenian national, who is wanted in his home country for bank and credit card fraud, was deported by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Elvis Kukavica, 34, arrived Jan. 6, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, under ICE escort and was turned over to Slovenian authorities without incident.
"Identifying and removing foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority," said Rebecca Adducci, field office director of ERO Detroit. "This removal ensures that this individual will face justice for the allegations pending against him."
He was arrested for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act in October 2015 following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations. Kukavica was subsequently ordered removed in November 2015 by an immigration judge in Detroit.
During removal proceedings, records checks revealed a 2007 indictment by Slovenian authorities for bank and credit card fraud.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 1,150 foreign fugitives from the United States who were sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the United States. Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the toll-free ICE tip line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE's online tip form.
In fiscal 2015, ICE removed or returned 235,413 individuals. Of this total, 165,935 were apprehended while, or shortly after, attempting to illegally enter the United States. The remaining 69,478 were apprehended in the interior of the United States, and the vast majority were convicted criminals who fell within ICE's civil immigration enforcement priorities.
98 percent of ICE's fiscal 2015 removals and returns fell into one or more of ICE's civil immigration enforcement priorities, with 86 percent falling in Priority 1 and 8 percent in Priority 2. In addition, ICE's interior enforcement activities led to an increase in the percentage of interior removals that were convicted criminals, growing from 82 percent in fiscal 2013 to 91 percent in 2015.
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