Lukasz Niec, a Michigan doctor and green card holder, faces deportation after four decades in U.S.
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Nearly a week ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Lukasz Niec, a Michigan physician and legal permanent resident, after four decades in the U.S. The reason? Two misdemeanor convictions from over 25 years ago. Now Dr. Niec faces depLukasz Niec, a Michigan doctor and green card holder, faces deportation after four decades in U.S.
Nearly a week ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Lukasz Niec, a Michigan physician and legal permanent resident, after four decades in the U.S. The reason? Two misdemeanor convictions from over 25 years ago. Now Dr. Niec faces deportation to his native Poland, where he no longer has any family members, or even speaks the language: According to his “notice to appear” from the Department of Homeland Security, Niec’s detention stems from two misdemeanor convictions from 26 years ago. In January 1992, Niec was convicted of malicious destruction of property under $100. In April of that year, he was convicted of receiving and concealing stolen property over $100 and a financial transaction device. Because Niec was convicted of two crimes involving “moral turpitude,” stemming from two separate incidents, he is subject to removal, immigration authorities wrote in the notice to appear, citing the Immigration and Nationality Act. Both of the offenses took place when he was a teenager. He associated himself “with some bad people” his sister said. The first of the incidents involved an altercation with a driver after a car crash, Niec’s sister said. He was one of multiple teenagers in the car at the time. “The second of those convictions was eventually expunged from his criminal record, his sister said, as part of a guilty plea through Michigan’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, a program intended to help young offenders avoid the stigma of a criminal conviction. But even though the crime was scrubbed off his public record, it can still be used against him for removal from the country, his sister said.” Which ICE is now attempting to do. Are you feeling safer yet, America? Dr. Niec became a lawful permanent resident in 1989 and “never fathomed that his legal status in the United States would become an issue. “ But like undocumented dad Jorge Garcia, Dr. Niec has become yet another immigrant swept up by mass deportation agents, despite deep roots and decades in the U.S. Read more