Nazi Labor Camp Guard Arrested, Deported to Germany by ICE

A man who authorities say is the last known Nazi collaborator living in the United States was arrested and deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Monday. 

Officials with the Justice Department say Palij served as an armed guard at a death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. 

President Donald Trump ordered the agency to remove the 95-year-old Jakiw Palij from his Queens, New York, home. The White House released a statement after Pajil landed in Germany on Tuesday: 

"President Trump commends his Administration’s comprehensive actions, especially ICE’s actions, in removing this war criminal from United States soil," the statement read. "Despite a court ordering his deportation in 2004, past administrations were unsuccessful in removing Palij. To protect the promise of freedom for Holocaust survivors and their families, President Trump prioritized the removal of Palij. Through extensive negotiations, President Trump and his team secured Palij’s deportation to Germany and advanced the United States’ collaborative efforts with a key European ally."

The Justice Department accuses Palij of working at the Treblinka death camp, including on one infamous day in November 1943 in which 6,000 prisoners were killed. 

At the end of the war, Palij lied to U.S. immigration authorities telling them that he spent the war in his hometown in Germany, Palij came to the United States in 1949 and granted U.S. citizenship in 1957. 

At one point in 2003, he was tracked down by federal authorities and his past as a Nazi guard was exposed. An immigration judge in New York revoked Palij's U.S. citizenship and ordered for him to be deported in 2005. 

“The United States will never be a safe haven for those who have participated in atrocities, war crimes, and human rights abuses,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Jakiw Palij lied about his Nazi past to immigrate to this country and then fraudulently become an American citizen. He had no right to citizenship or to even be in this country."

ICE captures and deports last known Nazi collaborator

Officials say one of the reasons Palij has remained in the U.S. for so long is because of Germany's reluctance to take him in.

“Nazi war criminals and human rights violators have no safe haven on our shores,” said Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “We will relentlessly pursue them, wherever they may be found, and bring them to justice. The arrest and removal of Jakiw Palij to Germany is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the men and women of ICE, who faithfully enforce our immigration laws to protect the American people.”

Photos: U.S. Justice Department


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