Ewart Henry, a 71-year-old Jamaican national, made his initial appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller after being charged in a criminal complaint with illegal reentry, Acting U.S. Attorney Joycelyn Hewlett announced.
Henry was detained pending further proceedings. Preliminary and detention hearings are set for Tuesday.
According to the criminal complaint, Henry presented himself on Friday at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection primary inspection checkpoint at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. Henry was a ticketed passenger on an outbound American Airlines flight to Connecticut. He provided a Connecticut state ID card and was unable to provide further documentation of citizenship. CBP secondary inspection discovered that Henry is a Jamaican national and was previously deported in 2008. Henry had not obtained permission to reenter the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Under federal law, Henry faces a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine if convicted of illegal reentry.
The case is being investigated by CBP and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations , and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte.
