An illegal immigrant sex offender from Sri Lanka was working as a professor at Ferris State University before he was arrested by immigration agents in Detroit this month.
“It’s sickening that a sex offender was working as a professor on an American college campus and was given access to vulnerable students to potentially victimize them,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Thanks to the brave ICE law enforcement officers, this sicko is behind bars and no longer able to prey on Americans. His days of exploiting the immigration system are OVER,” she said.
“Under President (Donald) Trump and Secretary Noem, criminals are not welcome in the U.S.,” she added.
Sumith Gunasekera, who was arrested on Nov. 12, was working as an assistant professor of marketing at Ferris State University despite a history of multiple arrests for criminal sexual behavior, including with minors.
Ferris spokesman Dave Murray wouldn’t discuss Gunasekera’s situation with the Big Rapids Pioneer, though he confirmed the Sri Lankan national is no longer in the classroom.
The university was unaware of Gunasekera’s criminal history, he said.
“He has been placed on administrative leave while the university gathers more information,” Murray said in a statement that did not specify whether the leave was paid. “This is a personnel issue, and it would be inappropriate for the university to further discuss the matter.”
DHS contends Gunasekera came to the U.S. in February 1998 and left for Canada, returning a year later on a student visa.
“It was later discovered, when he applied for a change of status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2012, that he was convicted of crimes in Canada,” the agency reports.
Gunasekera was arrested by Peel Regional Police in Ontario for uttering death threats on Aug. 28, 1998, and again three days later for invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference with a minor.
Gunasekera was later convicted of uttering threats to cause death and sexual interference and sentenced to one month in jail and a year of probation.
Four years later, on Sept. 25, 2003, Gunasekera was arrested for open and gross lewdness by the Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas. He was convicted of disorderly conduct and ordered to pay fines four months later.
“Over the years Gunasekera repeatedly attempted to manipulate our immigration system between applications, denials, and appeals despite the convictions in Canada that made him ineligible for legal status in the United States,” according to DHS.
Former Congressman Mike Rogers, the Republican frontrunner in the 2026 race to replace Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Twp., issued a statement in response to Gunasekera’s arrest on Tuesday.
“Criminals belong behind bars, not in classrooms,” Rogers said. “The fact that a criminal illegal alien sex offender had direct access to students on campus is sickening.
“I’m grateful for ICE’s swift action to keep Michigan students and communities safe before anyone else was victimized,” he said.
Gunasekera joins a growing list of educators with criminal histories arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this year amid the largest deportation effort is U.S. history.
In September, ICE agents arrested Andre Roberts, a Guyanese national who was serving as superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, for being in the country illegally and possessing a loaded handgun, KCRG reports.
Federal law prevents illegal immigrants from possessing firearms.
“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” ICE ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson told the news site. “This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats.”
During the arrest, officers recovered a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a hunting knife.
Roberts was previously charged with possessing a firearm in Pennsylvania in 2021, which district officials said they were aware of when he was hired.
“Dr. Roberts has a previous firearm charge related to a hunting rifle which he disclosed to the DMPS Board during the hiring process,” the district wrote to KCRG in a statement. “He provided sufficient context and explanation of the situation to move forward in the hiring process.”
Roberts, who was ordered removed from the U.S. last year, did not have authorization to work, but nonetheless passed a third-party background check, completed an employment eligibility verification form, and received his license from the Iowa Board of Education n 2023, according to the news site.
In May, ICE arrested former music teacher Joshua DeWitte, 50, on charges of sexual exploitation of minors, attempt, and conspiracy for allegedly soliciting sexual videos of minors through Snapchat, according to ICE.
