ICE removes South Korean national to face indecent assault convictions in home country
NEWARK, NJ — A 59-year-old South Korean fugitive, convicted in his home country for the offenses of indecent assault and causing physical injury, was removed from the United States Feb. 11, by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Don Hyun Choi departed the U.S. and was turned over to South Korean law enforcement authorities for the aforementioned criminal convictions.
On June 27, 2015, Choi entered the United States as a nonimmigrant under the Visa Waiver Program and failed to depart the United States under the terms of his admission.
He was arrested by ICE officers Nov. 30, 2018, in Palisades Park, New Jersey, and detained in ICE custody at Essex County Correctional Facility.
“This individual’s status as a fugitive and his convictions for violent criminal acts in his home country show that he is an individual who warranted removal from the U.S.,” said John Tsoukaris, field office director for ERO Newark.
ICE removed or returned 256,085 aliens in fiscal year 2018. The proportion of FY18 removals resulting from ICE arrests increased by nearly seventeen percent over the previous fiscal year, and the number of ICE interior removals in FY18 increased by nearly 14,000 from FY17.
ICE is focused on removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens and gang members, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-entered the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges.
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