Governor commutes migrant's sentence, removes him from Guam

Jasmine Stole , jstole@guampdn.com
12:29 a.m. ChST July 15, 2016


(Photo: Department of Corrections)


With Wednesday’s removal of a migrant inmate from the Department of Corrections, Gov. Eddie Calvo is also looking to remove other non-U.S. citizens from the local prison and from Guam, according to a statement from his office.

“Each case will be reviewed carefully. Moving forward, we hope to work with U.S. immigrations and our federal partners who hopefully will begin to prioritize this issue,” the governor's office said in a written statement.

Federal treaties called compacts of free association allow regional migrants to live and work in Guam, but local officials have said the federal government, which controls immigration, is not adequately enforcing provisions that allow convict migrants to be deported. ​

Calvo removed Ninton Hauk from prison on Wednesday without an order from the federal government. The governor wrote an executive order, citing his Organic Act authority as justification for reducing Hauk’s sentencing, freeing him, and paying for his one-way flight to Chuuk, in the Federated States of Micronesia.

“He is, in essence, a free man.”
Oyaol Ngirairikl, communications director for the governor.

Hauk, who slashed a child in the face with a butcher's knife, had about a year left on his sentence and three years of parole, but the governor commuted, or reduced, his sentence before removing him from Guam. Hauk is not obligated to serve the rest of his prison sentence in Chuuk, according to Oyaol Ngirairikl, communications director for the governor.

“He is, in essence, a free man,” Ngirairikl said Thursday.


Gov. Eddie Calvo (Photo: PDN file)

Ngirairikl said Adelup will weigh different factors when considering which other migrant inmates to remove.

In the case of Hauk, Ngirairikl said, the administration had a lot of discussions and was very deliberate about how it went about his removal.

While the governor said he has barred Hauk from returning to Guam, it’s unclear if the governor’s authority extends to other jurisdictions and if Hauk can re-enter other U.S. states or territories.

The governor’s office said Hauk’s name was submitted to U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines as someone not allowed to return to Guam.

Adelup said in a statement that Hauk left voluntarily. “When approached with the possibility of a commuted sentence with the condition that he leave Guam, he agreed,” the governor’s statement said.

As a condition of his reduced sentenced, Hauk agreed not to return to Guam. The victim in Hauk’s case was also notified, according to the governor's office.

Hauk was sent to prison after pleading guilty to slashing a boy across the face with a butcher's knife in 2011, according to news files.

Hauk was charged with misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and promoting prison contraband as a second-degree felony and assault on a peace officer as a third-degree felony, according to the governor’s office. Hauk also pleaded guilty in those cases and received a partially suspended one year sentence and two years parole for assault and disorderly conduct.

Calvo, in his executive order, identified Hauk as “a deportable alien because he has violated and continues to be in violation of the Amended Compact with the FSM, U.S. Immigration and National Act and (U.S. Department of Homeland Security” immigration regulations.”

In a July 12 letter to Peter Christian, president of the FSM, Calvo said he has “residual authority to enforce the immigration laws of the United States in default of performance by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States” and he has authority to “grant pardons and reprieves…for offenses against local law.”

FSM Consul General in Guam, Robert Ruecho, said Thursday that he is waiting to hear back from officials in Pohnpei about the circumstances surrounding Hauk’s removal.

Hemlani Apartments case

In his weekly address Monday, Calvo called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to deport two men arrested in connection with the June 22 attack of a police officer at Hemlani Harmon Apartments.
Police said two adults and three boys were arrested in connection with the attack. VK Katson is the only person so far who has been charged.

The Office of the Attorney General issued a notice to JN John, the other adult arrested, to appear in court at a later date.

Though Katson and John have been arrested, they have not been convicted of any crime.

Katson and John are citizens of Chuuk State, according to prison records.

On June 28, Katson told Magistrate Judge Alberto Tolentino that he had been here for six months and came from Chuuk. He was held on $2,000 cash bail. The probation officer said at the hearing he did not have prior arrests.

Deportation process

“If someone came into the country lawfully … they can only become deportable if and when they’ve been convicted of a crime — generally serious offenses,” said Virginia Kice, director for ICE Western Regional Communications.

“We can’t unilaterally remove someone from the United States. We have to go through a formal process.”

“We can’t unilaterally remove someone from the United States. We have to go through a formal process.”
Virginia Kice, director for ICE Western Regional Communications

ICE is not the agency that orders the deportation of a person, she said. While it is ICE that charges an alien with violation of immigration, it is up to the judge in an immigration court to order the person to be removed.

Calvo also said in his weekly address that “it’s the federal government’s duty to ensure migrants are complying with the requirements of their residency on Guam.”

Other commutations

Governors in the past have used their Organic Act Authority to commute the sentences of inmates at DOC, according to news files.

Former Gov. Felix Camacho commuted a prison sentence for then-Guam Mass Transit Authority Deputy Director Antonio Diaz. He was found guilty of a felony and a misdemeanor in connection with using his government issued credit card for personal purchases. Camacho’s executive order kept Diaz out of prison by reducing his two-year sentence to time served, news files state.

Former Gov. Carl Gutierrez approved the commutation request of Cris Crisostomo, convicted of killing a woman in her Mangilao apartment.

During Calvo’s tenure as governor, at least one migrant inmate has requested commutation of his sentence and to be transferred to Chuuk’s prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

In September 2012, Gerhart Moses sent a letter to Calvo, asking for commutation. He is serving at least 25 years in prison with possibility of parole for a first degree criminal sexual conduct charge, according to Moses’ letter.

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