U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement completed the removal of Prince Solomon Knox, 62, a Sierra Leonean national, to his home country on March 1.
Knox was arrested by ICE in St. Louis on February 4. He has previous convictions for visa fraud and domestic assault after lying about his prior affiliation with armed terrorist groups.
Knox entered the U.S. at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on April 14, 2004, and came to the attention of ICE in 2006 through an investigation involving allegations of fraud by ineligible combatants or imposter refugees to participate in the refugee resettlement program.
The investigation revealed witnesses who provided testimony about involvement with multiple combatant groups in Western Africa, including the Revolutionary United Front, a group that made extensive use of child soldiers while committing acts such as amputating the hands, arms, and legs of tens of thousands of Sierra Leoneans using machetes.
The investigation resulted in a federal grand jury indicting Knox on two counts of visa fraud and two counts of false statements, and ICE arrested him on December 21, 2006. Knox was convicted on June 20, 2007, by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and sentenced to 12 months of incarceration.
An immigration judge ordered Knox removed on June 6, 2008, while in custody, and he was later placed under an order of supervision pending removal.
