ICE arrests, detains UK citizen upon release from New York City’s Metropolitan Detention Center for violating US immigration laws

NEW YORK - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mark Adrian Vicars, a 58-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom illegally present in the United States, on Feb 21 who was previously convicted for impersonating a U.S. Federal Air Marshal, among other offenses, upon his release from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

“Vicars not only dishonored our federal law enforcement community and violated our nation’s immigration laws, but he posed a clear and present threat to the community’s safety being heavily armed with illegal weapons,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City acting Field Office Director William P. Joyce. “Anyone who illegally arrives in our U.S. cities to cause havoc on our streets is a prime target for removal from our nation.”

Vicars is now detained without bond at the Batavia Federal Detention Facility, pending his removal from the U.S.

The Nassau County Court sentenced Vicars on Sept. 8, 2017, to concurrent sentences on multiple crimes in relation to possession of firearms. He was sentenced six years imprisonment and five years post-release supervision for criminal possession of a weapon and loaded firearm; six years imprisonment and five years post-release supervision for criminal possession of a weapon and possession of five or more firearms; and, one year imprisonment for the crime of possession of a forged instrument.

Vicars was subsequently sentenced on Oct. 23, 2024, to four months imprisonment with supervised release for two years on a charge of false statement on a passport application.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing ICE’s online tip form.

Learn more about ICE’s mission to preserve public safety on X at @ERONewYork.