68 Nigerians deported, most of them criminals

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68 Nigerians deported, most of them criminals

September 1, 2005, 5:36 PM EDT

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Immigration officials this week deported 61 Nigerians, most of them criminals, bringing to 199 the total deportations from the Buffalo area in August.

Of those flown out late Wednesday, 51 had been convicted of crimes including sexual abuse, forgery, assault, robbery and attempted murder since arriving in the United States.

"The criminals who we successfully removed have committed crimes around the country, preying on the innocent and tearing at the fabric of our communities," said William Cleary, field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Buffalo.

Canadian officials put an additional seven Nigerian criminals on the flight from Niagara Falls to Lagos, Nigeria.

The individuals were staged at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia in preparation for removal.

Of the 199 people deported from the Batavia facility in August, 164 had criminal convictions, while 25 had immigration violations. The convictions included 16 murders, six sex crimes, seven weapons charges, 38 drug crimes, 23 robberies and 14 burglaries, according to ICE. They were deported to 10 countries: Nigeria, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Trinidad, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Pakistan.