ICE Baltimore detains Guyanese national after murder conviction, says removal proceedings are pending

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Baltimore said it detained Christopher Adolph Franklin, a Guyanese national who has lived in the United States since 1985, after authorities linked him to a 1999 Maryland murder for which he was convicted of first-degree murder and felony use of a handgun.

ICE Baltimore announced the detention in a public post shared on social media, describing Franklin as a “criminal illegal alien” and stating he entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1985.

Local outlet WMAR 2 News reported that ICE says Franklin violated the terms of his status through the 1999 killing, and that—despite having served his criminal sentence—he is now being held while removal (deportation) proceedings move forward.

Under U.S. immigration law, a noncitizen who is convicted of an “aggravated felony” after admission to the United States is deportable—a category of offenses that carries especially severe immigration consequences and limits many forms of relief from removal.