ICE removes 36 Cambodian nationals

On Monday, December 17th, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) ICE Air Operations (IAO) flight departed El Paso, Texas carrying 36 Cambodian nationals, of whom 34 are criminals, to their home country of Cambodia in accordance with their final orders of removal.

Criminal convictions included two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter, accessory after the fact of a homicide, sexual assault, three counts of sexual offenses, child abuse, domestic violence, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated robbery, two counts of assault, arson, auto theft, two counts of robbery, robbery with a gun, two weapons offenses, theft, larceny, stolen property, fraud, and five drug convictions.

“As a result of continued diplomatic efforts in coordination with our partners at the Department of State, the implementation of visa sanctions, and the tireless efforts of the ERO Removals Division, removals to Cambodia increased 279% from Fiscal Year 2017 to Fiscal Year 2018. However, there are still nearly 1,900 Cambodian nationals present in the United States with a final order of removal, of whom almost 1,400 are convicted criminals. This most recent removal flight took 34 criminals, many convicted of the most heinous possible crimes, off our streets and made our communities safer. We will continue these efforts to carry out lawfully issued final orders of removal, prioritizing as always the removal of threats to public safety,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Executive Associate Director Nathalie Asher.

The flight arrived in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, December 18th, where the Cambodian nationals were turned over to Cambodian authorities.