WEST VIRGINIA, United States — A Jamaican man on Thursday pleaded guilty to a federal immigration charge in Charleston, West Virginia, after he re-entered the United States illegally following a previous deportation more than 12 years ago.

Edwin Hugh Douglas, a 53-year-old resident of Kingston, Jamaica, pleaded guilty to re-entry of a removed alien, and was remanded to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation proceedings.

The announcement was made in a release by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia on Thursday.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Douglas admitted that he was found in a Parkersburg municipal building by ICE agents on December 3, 2021.

Douglas was identified by ICE agents during the course of an investigation, and he later “admitted” to them that “he is a citizen of Jamaica and had been previously removed from the United States,” the release said.

It added: “Douglas had no identification documents permitting him legal status in the United States and was arrested.”

Fingerprints matched Douglas to a November 9, 2009, administrative removal from the United States to Jamaica.

Further checks also revealed that the Jamaican was convicted of felony unlawful assault in Wood County Circuit Court on June 17, 2004.

“Douglas never obtained the express consent of the Secretary of US Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States, nor did he seek to re-enter through other legal means,” the US Attorney’s Office stated.

On Thursday, the Jamaican was sentenced to the time he has served in custody since his arrest by Senior United States District Judge David A Faber.

He was later remanded to ICE custody for deportation.