Thread: Illegal immigrants held on felony charges

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Illegal immigrants held on felony charges

The nine people had been convicted on charges ranging from sexual battery to grand larceny.


BY DAVID CHERNICKY
247-4743

Published March 5, 2005

NORFOLK -- Federal immigration and customs agents Thursday arrested nine illegal immigrants in Hampton Roads on charges they committed felonies since receiving their green card or ignored deportation orders.

Six of the immigrants were previously legal, but violated U.S. immigration law when they were convicted of an aggravated felony, Mike Netherland, supervisor of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Norfolk, said Friday.

The aggravated felony charges include child molestation, possession and distribution of narcotics; grand larceny; sexual assault and other crimes.

ICE agents identified the six while checking information on applications for various immigration benefits through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The benefits include work authorization, adjustment of status to a lawful permanent resident, and naturalization.

"When the person applies for a benefit, fingerprints are taken and entered into a national database for comparison," Netherland said.

"Once we learned about the felony convictions, we started checking the various databases to track them down," Netherland said.

The nine arrested and facing deportation hearings are:

Tham Tan Vo, a citizen of Vietnam, was living in Newport News. Convicted of carnal knowledge of a child. He was working at a Wal-Mart warehouse.

Selahaddin Kaplin, of Williamsburg, an immigrant from Turkey convicted of crimes involving assault and battery.

Victor-Rojas-Duran, a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was living in Virginia Beach. Rojas-Duran was convicted of drug-related crimes, including possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Mohammed Zakari, a citizen of Morocco who was living in Virginia Beach. Convicted of grand larceny.

Sevanti Modi, a citizen of India, was living in Virginia Beach. Convicted of sexual battery.

Schiller Menard, a citizen of Haiti, was living in Virginia Beach. Convicted of possession and sale of marijuana and possession of a firearm.

Xue Qi Lin, Cheng Chao Weng and Xia Ming Wen, all citizens of China, were living in Virginia Beach. Wen had dodged immigration authorities since September 2002, Netherland said.

"An immigration judge previously ordered them removed. They either absconded or never showed up for the deportation hearing," he said.

"Restoring the integrity of our immigration system is a priority for ICE," he said. "A key step in the restoration process is to aggressively locate, arrest and remove criminal and non-criminal illegal aliens from the United States. By attempting to obtain legal immigration benefits, these criminals were also degrading the very system that thousands of law abiding immigrants use to start a new life in the U.S."

Most of the immigrants had jobs.

"Obviously after 9-11 there has been and continues to be a heightened awareness. The number one priority is national security. After that, we're concerned with aliens who have or are committing crimes in the U.S," Netherland said.

"Any time there is an alien who has committed a felony, we want to be alerted by local law enforcement."

Netherland said none of the nine were deemed a national security risk. They are being held in area jails pending deportation proceedings. Last month, the Naval Investigative Service arrested two workers for a subcontractor at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard charging each with violating immigration laws. The workers are both Korean.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp ... ocal-final

Illegal immigrants held on felony charges

The nine people had been convicted on charges ranging from sexual battery to grand larceny.


BY DAVID CHERNICKY
247-4743

Published March 5, 2005

NORFOLK -- Federal immigration and customs agents Thursday arrested nine illegal immigrants in Hampton Roads on charges they committed felonies since receiving their green card or ignored deportation orders.

Six of the immigrants were previously legal, but violated U.S. immigration law when they were convicted of an aggravated felony, Mike Netherland, supervisor of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Norfolk, said Friday.

The aggravated felony charges include child molestation, possession and distribution of narcotics; grand larceny; sexual assault and other crimes.

ICE agents identified the six while checking information on applications for various immigration benefits through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The benefits include work authorization, adjustment of status to a lawful permanent resident, and naturalization.

"When the person applies for a benefit, fingerprints are taken and entered into a national database for comparison," Netherland said.

"Once we learned about the felony convictions, we started checking the various databases to track them down," Netherland said.

The nine arrested and facing deportation hearings are:

Tham Tan Vo, a citizen of Vietnam, was living in Newport News. Convicted of carnal knowledge of a child. He was working at a Wal-Mart warehouse.

Selahaddin Kaplin, of Williamsburg, an immigrant from Turkey convicted of crimes involving assault and battery.

Victor-Rojas-Duran, a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was living in Virginia Beach. Rojas-Duran was convicted of drug-related crimes, including possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Mohammed Zakari, a citizen of Morocco who was living in Virginia Beach. Convicted of grand larceny.

Sevanti Modi, a citizen of India, was living in Virginia Beach. Convicted of sexual battery.

Schiller Menard, a citizen of Haiti, was living in Virginia Beach. Convicted of possession and sale of marijuana and possession of a firearm.

Xue Qi Lin, Cheng Chao Weng and Xia Ming Wen, all citizens of China, were living in Virginia Beach. Wen had dodged immigration authorities since September 2002, Netherland said.

"An immigration judge previously ordered them removed. They either absconded or never showed up for the deportation hearing," he said.

"Restoring the integrity of our immigration system is a priority for ICE," he said. "A key step in the restoration process is to aggressively locate, arrest and remove criminal and non-criminal illegal aliens from the United States. By attempting to obtain legal immigration benefits, these criminals were also degrading the very system that thousands of law abiding immigrants use to start a new life in the U.S."

Most of the immigrants had jobs.

"Obviously after 9-11 there has been and continues to be a heightened awareness. The number one priority is national security. After that, we're concerned with aliens who have or are committing crimes in the U.S," Netherland said.

"Any time there is an alien who has committed a felony, we want to be alerted by local law enforcement."

Netherland said none of the nine were deemed a national security risk. They are being held in area jails pending deportation proceedings. Last month, the Naval Investigative Service arrested two workers for a subcontractor at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard charging each with violating immigration laws. The workers are both Korean.