Three men ordered to learn English deported (The Citizens Voice)

Three men ordered to learn English deported

BY L.A. TARONE
STAFF WRITER
04/08/2008

The three men ordered to learn English by Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. two weeks ago have now been ordered out of the country.

Rafael Guzman-Mateo, Ricardo Dominguez and Luis Reyes are from the Dominican Republic, but are resident aliens who are being deported because of their criminal convictions.
A resident alien is a documented U.S. resident — but does not have citizenship. A resident alien’s income is subject to tax in the same manner as a citizen’s.
Agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Milford, Pike County, picked up the men when they checked in with their parole officer Monday morning.
The bureau’s Criminal Alien Division took the men into custody, according to Mike Gilhooly, director of communications for ICE’s Northeast Region in Vermont. He said they were not illegal immigrants.
“They had status in the country,” Gilhooly said. “They’re being deported because of their criminal convictions. They will be detained until they meet with a judge.”
Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, criminal offenses are grounds for deportation.
The three were arrested, along with Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, for an armed assault and robbery on Hazleton’s northwest side in 2007.
The four jumped two men on Locust Street alongside Vine Street Cemetery on May 29, 2007, and pulled a gun. One of the victims was hit with a rawhide dog bone, police said.
Police have identified all four as members of a street gang. They were arrested shortly after the assault and sent to Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of posting bail.
On March 28, Olszewski sentenced Guzman-Mateo, Dominguez and Reyes to four to 24 months in jail for the assault. However, he added a caveat ­— he released them for serving the minimum sentence and ordered them to learn English.
If they did, and passed an English test a year from now, they’d be allowed to remain free. If they failed, they’d go back to jail to serve the remainder of the sentence.
Reyes-Rosario remains in jail on a drug charge.
Olszewski did not return a call for comment Monday. A woman from his office said she was unaware of the men’s status until a reporter called.