Cardia Powell/Jamaica/Larceny

ICE agents apprehended Cardia Powell in Hartford, Conn. The Jamaica illegal alien faces charges of larceny and is subject to federal immigration enforcement.

Property crime charges carry serious criminal penalties under state law, and for illegal aliens, they trigger a concurrent federal immigration enforcement action that moves forward independently. The criminal case will be prosecuted by local or state attorneys, with conviction carrying the possibility of incarceration and restitution. At the same time, an immigration court will evaluate Powell’s case separately and determine whether removal to Jamaica should be ordered — a proceeding that continues regardless of the criminal outcome.

Powell has been placed in federal immigration detention and is scheduled to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. If ordered removed, Powell would be deported to Jamaica.