DHS says pilot falsely claimed U.S. citizenship at Texas border in 2007
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana into custody following his release on bail in a pending federal criminal case stemming from the Aug. 8 capsizing of a speedboat he was piloting during a tour around the Statue of Liberty. The crash killed 5-month-old Antonella Garcia and 27-year-old Sara Sanchez.
According to DHS, Hernandez-Umana entered the country in Texas in 2007 and lied to a border officer by falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.
Hernandez-Umana, 46, a citizen of El Salvador, is being held at an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to online records. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Salvadoran national will eventually be deported.
Immigration authorities arrested Hernandez-Umana after he was released on bail in his criminal case. He is charged with causing the deaths of Antonella Garcia and Sara Sanchez through misconduct or neglect. The federal criminal case remains pending.
As MSI previously reported, the same speedboat capsized off Liberty Island on Aug. 8 and the operator was arrested shortly afterward in connection with the deaths.