Federal

Immigration Enforcement Ongoing as Dominican National Apprehended After Arriving on St. John

ST. JOHN — Last week, Marine Interdiction Agents of the Customs and Border Protection Air Marine Operations apprehended a citizen of the Dominican Republic moments after he stepped off an inflatable boat onto a beach on St. John. The agents were reportedly on a surveillance operation at Leinster Bay when they spotted a single engine inflatable boat approaching Annaberg beach. They watched as the boat, with the captain and one passenger on board, came close enough for the passenger to disembark. As the individual walked off the beach towards the parking lot, agents stopped him for an immigration document check. The man – Erick Jefferson Louis Mella – reportedly disclosed that he was a citizen of the Dominican Republic. Homeland Security Investigations officials who ran system checks could not find any record of Mr. Mella entering the United States legally, and thus he was transported to Enforcement Removal Operations offices on St. Thomas. HSI agents say that Mr. Mella admitted to e...