US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have arrested the captain of a vessel involved in a maritime accident that had left two people dead in New York Harbor earlier this month.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was piloting a vessel that overturned near Liberty Island with passengers still on board on August 8.
While all persons on the overturned vessel were recovered, two of the passengers, a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter, were pronounced deceased shortly after recovery.
Following the initial rescue, Hernandez-Umana was arrested by the New York City Police Department for reckless endangerment. He appeared in court a few days after the accident and was ordered to stay away from the survivors, to, "not operate boats or nautical vessels," and to remain within the New York and New Jersey area while the case was still ongoing.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Hernandez-Umana has been charged with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death. After an investigation by the Coast Guard Investigative Service confirmed Hernandez-Umana’s unlawful presence in the United States, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations personnel arrested him.
“This criminal illegal alien was illegally and recklessly conducting unlicensed boat tours in New York Harbor when his boat capsized, killing a 27-year-old woman and her five-month-old baby,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
"Federal regulations and maritime safety protocols exist to protect the lives and wellbeing of passengers on commercial vessels,” said US Attorney Jamie McDonald. “The defendant allegedly flouted those regulations when he transported paying customers on a commercial vessel without appropriate licenses, overcrowded the vessel, and took on a five-month-old infant passenger, with no infant life vests onboard. We... urge would-be tour operators and the public to observe all safety protocols for commercial vessels."
DHS said Hernandez-Umana has claimed to have illegally entered the United States through Texas in 2007, lying to a US Customs and Border Protection officer and falsely claiming to be a US citizen so that he could enter the country.
