Champlain, N.Y. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations announced the arrest of a citizen of Haiti on charges of improper entry by an alien, misstatements and withholding of material facts
On March 12, CBP officers encountered a 37-year-old male as he applied for admission into the United States at the Champlain, N.Y. port of entry. The subject presented a Canadian passport as proof of citizenship and advised the CBP officer that he was destined to the New York City area to visit family for the weekend. A primary record check indicated that the presented passport may have been reported as lost or stolen. The subject was referred to CBP secondary enforcement for verification of his immigration status.
During the course of the secondary inspection, CBP officers noticed that the photograph contained in the biographic page of the passport did not bear an exact resemblance to the individual claiming ownership. A query of the subject's fingerprints resulted in the discovery of a record indicating the prints were not those of a Canadian citizen but rather belonged to Jean Erol Dort, a 37-year-old Haitian national who had been previously ordered deported from the United States.
Additional record checks by CBP revealed that Mr. Dort initially entered the United States illegally in December, 2003 by boat in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mr. Dort was subsequently arrested and in 2008, ordered deported from the United States, but during his appeal process, he fled to Canada where he claimed refugee status.
When confronted with the evidence discovered by CBP, Mr. Dort recanted his original claim to Canadian citizenship and advised CBP officers that he was in fact a citizen of Haiti. He further advised that the presented passport was not his, but rather belonged to a friend. Mr. Dort also admitted that his purpose in entering the United States was to illegally seek employment.