A criminal illegal immigrant scheduled for deportation managed to flee from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody late Tuesday at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, ICE officials and Port Authority Police Department officials said Wednesday.
The Senegal-born Mohamadou Lamine Mbacke, 31, was in the process of being deported from Detroit, Michigan, back to Senegal. He escaped custody during a layover at JFK Airport when his handcuffs were removed for security checkpoint screening.
Mbacke hailed a taxi cab about 9 p.m., ICE said. Both ICE and the Port Authority police are searching for Mbacke.
Law enforcement officials told the New York Daily News that Mbacke is considered a “violent deportee.”
“An individual being transported by federal immigration officials at JFK Airport last night eluded custody during transfer to a connecting flight,” the police said in a statement. “A check of video cameras by authorities showed the individual left the airport in a cab. Federal authorities would know if he is still at large. He was not taken into custody in the airport by the Port Authority Police Department.”
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ICE said in a statement Wednesday that “members of the public should not attempt to apprehend him and instead immediately contact authorities.”
“Mbacke entered the country lawfully in 2005 before violating the terms of his status. He was ordered deported in September 2015 by an immigration judge,” ICE said. “Mbacke has previous criminal convictions for multiple weapons and firearms offenses.”
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ICE officials and Transportation Security Administration officials didn’t notify the Port Authority Police about Mbacke’s escape until an hour after it occurred, sources told the Daily News.
As of the time of this article’s publication, the manhunt is still underway.
PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.
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