An escaped killer who entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown time and location has been captured and deported, according to federal authorities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has removed a convicted killer who escaped prison and was hiding out in New Jersey, where police accused him of making terroristic threats.
Miguel Angel Hernandez Moreno fled his home country of Colombia in September 2017 after leaving prison on a 72-hour furlough.
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He was six years into a 22-year sentence for homicide. Details about the victim were not immediately available.
Authorities are not sure when he entered the U.S., but he did so illegally.
He remained under the radar until he was arrested twice on American soil late last year – first in Jersey City on Dec. 18 for allegedly making terroristic threats.
Local authorities released him before ICE's local office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) could request a detainer, ICE said in a statement Monday night.
The killer next made his way to New York City, authorities said, and on Dec. 27, ERO Newark officers captured him in Queens.
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An immigration judge ordered his removal in January, and ICE ERO Philadelphia completed his deportation this month, authorities said.
"Time and again we see fugitives fleeing from justice in their home countries and illegally crossing into the U.S.," said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley.
"The officers of ERO Philadelphia work tirelessly to apprehend and remove these wanted criminals who pose a threat to the American public."
The deportation comes as the country is reeling from the Georgia murder of a nursing student, Laken Riley, who police say was attacked by a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and pounced on a "crime of opportunity."
The suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, and his brother, Diego Ibarra, both have prior charges in the U.S. yet remained in the country.
Police have charged Jose Ibarra with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another. He was previously charged with injuring a child in New York City and driving without a license.
His brother allegedly gave a fake green card to detectives who were searching for Riley's killer last week. He previously faced charges of driving without a license, drunken driving and shoplifting.
