Ivy Tech student to face deportation

An Ivy Tech student will be deported home to Pakistan after it was discovered he was an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.\nMohammed Alam, 20, resident of the Varsity Villas, was arrested Jan. 14 for public intoxication. Because of his suspicious behavior, officers patted him down and found more than five different forms of identification in his wallet. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was contacted following Alam's arrest.\nIUPD. Lt. Jerry Minger said any time officers find anything that "doesn't seem to be in order," officers are duty-bound to report the case to the appropriate agency.\nAlam was booked into the Monroe County Jail without bond while the FBI conducted preliminary investigations. FBI spokeswoman Wendy Osbourne said after interviewing Alam, the FBI had "no reason to suspect any association with terrorism."\nHowever, Osbourne said proper proceedings required Alam's case to be forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security's ICE division, which has complete jurisdiction over multiple identity cases. The agency later discovered Alam was an illegal immigrant.\n"He had a fake green card," said Gail Montenegro, spokeswoman for ICE. "According to record checks, we found he had several criminal convictions in Elkhart ... those convictions make him an aggravated felon."\nOfficer Nicholas Gaff of the Elkhart County Police Department said Alam was arrested in 2002 for possession of marijuana, resisting law enforcement and carrying a handgun without a license. Additional drug charges for Alam were later dropped.\nFollowing his recent arrest, Alam was transferred from the Monroe County Jail to the Marion County Jail on Jan. 20.\n"The subject is currently on federal hold for immigration-related violations," said Adam Wilkie, employee at the Marion County Jail. "He is currently awaiting transfer to another facility."\nMontenegro said ICE placed a "detainer" on Alam, which guarantees he will be kept in jail and can only be released into the ICE's custody.\n"He will be transported to Chicago on Monday to go through proper deportation proceedings," she said.\nMontenegro said Alam's case fits with the agency's enforcement priorities.\n"One of our main goals is public safety," she said. "As far as immigration violations are concerned, our main priorities are to go after those who are not here illegally or legally but are committing crimes that make them deportable. But first and foremost, we are going after those who are committing crimes and threatening public safety."\nMinger said in retrospect, his officers "absolutely did the right thing" by contacting the FBI.\n"After finding all of the IDs, including a Virginia driver's license that was not him, the officers' suspicion later became probable cause to hold him," he said. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Lori Geller at lfgeller@indiana.edu.