Wednesday, March 09, 2011

ICE deports Canadian convicted of plotting to blow up Trans-Alaska Pipeline

LOS ANGELES - A Canadian national convicted in the United States of plotting to blow up the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in 2000 was deported to his native country Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) where he was turned over to representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at Vancouver International Airport.

Alfred Heinz Reumayr was repatriated to Canada by commercial aircraft, escorted by officers from the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Los Angeles. The 61-year-old came into ICE custody three months ago following his release from federal prison in Lompoc, Calif., where he served time for acts of terrorism. ICE placed Reumayr in removal proceedings and he was subsequently ordered deported by an immigration judge.

"Removing criminal aliens is a top priority for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security," said Timothy S. Robbins, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Los Angeles. "Our goal is not only to see justice served, but to protect law-abiding citizens in the United States and around the world."

According to court documents in Reumayr's criminal case, the Canadian man planned to purchase large quantities of oil futures before the bombing, believing the damaged pipeline would reduce oil supplies and drive up oil prices so he could potentially profit. The plot was derailed after a co-conspirator contacted federal authorities. In August 2008, Reumayr was convicted of terrorism in federal court in New Mexico and sentenced to 156 months in prison.

Identifying and removing criminal aliens is a top enforcement priority for ICE. In fiscal year 2010, ICE repatriated nearly 196,000 convicted criminal aliens to their native countries, a record number. The Los Angeles ERO Field Office accounted for more than 15,000 of those criminal alien deportations.

No comments: