News Releases

ICE arrests aggravated felon in Detroit

DETROIT – Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested a Cuban national last Thursday at the Citgo gas station on Kercheval Street on the city's east side. The man is an aggravated felon having been convicted of murder in the second degree, manslaughter and various other crimes in Arkansas, Michigan and California.

Edilberto Verane, 49, has a final order of removal from an immigration judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review. He is now in ERO custody while the U.S. government attempts to remove him from the country.

"A top priority for ERO in Detroit is to locate and arrest criminal aliens and ultimately remove them from our country," said ERO Detroit Field Office Director Rebecca Adducci. "This arrest is yet another example of the critical role that targeted immigration enforcement plays in keeping our communities safe."

Verane entered the United States in 1980. He was convicted Sept. 5, 1989, in Detroit for murder in the second degree, and sentenced to eight to 15 years in state prison. He was released from state custody without parole Jan. 21, 2004. He had other previous criminal convictions which included carrying a knife as a weapon and carrying a concealed handgun.

ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.

Largely as a result of these initiatives, for three years in a row, ERO has removed more aliens than were removed in fiscal year 2008. Overall, in FY 2011 ERO removed 396,906 individuals nationwide – the largest number in the agency's history. Of these, nearly 55 percent or 216,698 of the people removed were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors – an 89 percent increase in the removal of criminals since FY 2008. This includes 1,119 aliens convicted of homicide; 5,848 aliens convicted of sexual offenses; 44,653 aliens convicted of drug related crimes; and 35,927 aliens convicted of driving under the influence. ERO achieved similar results with regard to other categories prioritized for removal. Ninety percent of all ERO's removals fell into a priority category and more than two-thirds of the other removals in 2011 were either recent border crossers or repeat immigration violators.