VIRGINIA USA - The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agencies say a previously deported Jamaican immigrant has been jailed for illegally re-entering the country.

The agencies said that Andrew Anthony Maylor, who was deported in 2008 after being released from prison for a 1993 conviction for federal drug conspiracy charges, was sentenced to 57 months in a US federal jail “for illegally re-entering the United States after having been previously removed, and for 37 additional months for violation of his prior term of supervised release, for a total of 94 months”.

Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington, DC, said “Maylor's blatant disregard for the criminal and immigration laws of the United States have been judged today.

“When aggravated felons re-enter the United States, we will continue to focus our resources on smart, effective enforcement that targets these individuals and work with our partners to aggressively prosecute them,” she said, adding “we continue to strive to improve the quality of life for our communities through these efforts”.

Evans said Maylor “committed a serious felony” in the early 1990's and was “justly punished for that crime and deported”.

US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Timothy J. Heaphy said Maylor committed another crime when he re-entered the US without authorisation.

“We will do all we can to enforce federal immigration laws, which help keep criminals like Mr. Maylor out of this country,” he said.

According to court documents, Maylor admitted to re-entering the United States, without permission, on February 4, 2011.

He said that he came into Miami by boat without inspection and that he never applied for re-entry to the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.