ICE deports convicted Rwandan to serve sentence for role in 1994 genocide

DETROIT – A convicted human rights violator, wanted by Rwandan authorities to serve a 19-year prison sentence for a murder conviction, was deported to Rwanda Tuesday by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

An arrest warrant issued by Rwanda's Gacaca Courts, which have jurisdiction over genocide related trials, indicated that during the 1994 genocide, Marie Claire Mukeshimana, 43, acting with a purpose to murder, removed a child from a school in Save, Rwanda, and that her actions resulted in the death of the child. Mukeshimana was sentenced in 2009 before fleeing the country.

Mukeshimana was removed to Rwanda on a commercial flight. She arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, on Dec. 21. Upon arrival in Kigali, ICE ERO agents turned Mukeshimana over to the custody of the Rwandan National Police.

Mukeshimana attempted to enter the United States last year on a travel visa but was denied entry. She was placed in removal proceedings and has remained in ICE custody since then. In June, an immigration judge ordered her removed from the United States to Rwanda, a decision which was upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals on Nov. 15, 2011.

"ICE is committed to rooting out human rights violators like Mukeshimana who flee their countries in order to evade justice," said ICE Director John Morton. "While this removal cannot undo the pain Mukeshimana caused, we hope that the family of the victim will receive closure knowing that justice will be served."

ICE's Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) investigates human rights violators, including those who have participated in war crimes and acts of genocide, torture, extra-judicial killings, and violations of religious freedom, who seek to evade justice by seeking shelter in the United States. These individuals may assume fraudulent identities to enter the country, seeking to blend into communities inside the United States. Members of the public who have information about foreign nationals suspected of engaging in human rights abuses or war crimes are urged to call the ICE tip line at1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or complete the agency's online tip form. To learn more about the assistance available to victims in these cases, the public should contact ICE's confidential victim-witness toll-free number at 1-866-872-4973.

ICE HSI has more than 200 active investigations and is pursuing over 1,900 leads and removal cases involving suspects from approximately 95 different countries. These cases are predominantly focused on Central and South America, Haiti, the former Yugoslavia and Africa. They represent cases in various stages of investigation, prosecution or removal proceedings.