ICE Houston deports Canadian man wanted for dangerous driving resulting in 2 deaths
HOUSTON — A Canadian man, who was wanted in his native country following his 1978 conviction for dangerous driving resulting in two deaths, was deported Monday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Robert James Fox, aka Robert Fotti, 65, was escorted to the Pembina, North Dakota, Port of Entry Oct. 6 and turned over to Canadian law enforcement authorities.
“Identifying and removing foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority,” said Steven P. Boll, field office director of ERO Houston. “The cooperation between the United States and Canadian governments resulted in this foreign fugitive being safely returned to his home country where he can face justice for his crime.”
In the Eastern Judicial District of Manitoba, Canada, Fox was convicted in December 1978 of dangerous driving that resulted in the deaths of two people. He was sentenced to nine months in jail. However, Fox did not appear at his sentencing hearing.
Fox illegally entered the United States sometime in 1984. On Dec. 20, 2012, ERO placed an immigration detainer on Fox with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) after he was sentenced to a year in state prison on another conviction. By issuing a detainer, ICE requests that a law enforcement agency notify ICE before releasing an alien.
Fox was released into ICE custody from TDCJ July 10, 2013. On Jan. 29, 2014, a federal immigration judge in Houston ordered Fox to be deported to Canada.
Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 720 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.
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