ICE Deports Belgian Man Who Hid Child Sex Crime Conviction for a Decade

WASHINGTON, DC – A Belgian native who attempted to subvert the immigration process here in the United States was repatriated to Belgium in late July, where the criminal alien will reportedly serve out a prison sentence stemming from a child sex crime in his home country which he tried to avoid serving when entering the United States over a decade earlier.

On July 31st, 33-year-old Belgian fugitive Romulus Mihai was handed over to authorities in his home country after being arrested by ICE agents and ordered removed following an investigation into Mihai which revealed he was hiding his criminal past while trying to attain citizenship in the United States.

According to officials, Mihai entered the United States in April of 2013 under a visa waiver program, all the while concealing the fact that he’d been convicted of sexual exploitation of a child in Belgium and had fled his home country in order to avoid serving his sentence for the offense.

Upon an adjudication review of Mihai’s naturalization application, his case was flagged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate and handed over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further review.

It was during the aforementioned review that authorities discovered Mihai’s plot to avoid paying for his crimes abroad, which the conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) where a child was the victim would also prohibit Mihai’s lawful entry into the United States.

Mihai was arrested following the discovery of his past offense and was subsequently ordered removed by an immigration judge this past June.

HSI Washington, D.C. acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck issued a statement following Mihai’s removal, commending the “outstanding collaboration” between the two agencies involved in apprehending and deporting the convicted sex offender.

“The arrest of Romulus Mihai is a testament to the outstanding collaboration between HSI and USCIS,” SAC Heck stated, adding, “Together, we were able to identify, arrest and remove a child sex predator who had no legal right to remain in the U.S.”

SAC Heck was particularly troubled by both Mihai’s criminal past and his attempt to subvert the legal immigration process here stateside, saying, “Not only did Mihai victimize a child in his native country; he attempted to exploit the integrity of our immigration system to avoid accountability for his crime. HSI Washington, D.C. remains committed to safeguarding the lawful immigration process and holding accountable those who seek to exploit it. Furthermore, we will continue to prosecute, arrest and remove any criminal alien offender who endangers our communities.”