U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement early Tuesday deported a former Nazi SS labor camp guard to Germany, pursuant to a 2004 deportation order.
Jakiw Palij, 95, had lived in Queens, N.Y., for decades, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. She said President Trump prioritized Palij’s deportation after “extensive negotiations” with Germany.
“Palij had lied about being a Nazi and remained in the United States for decades,” Sanders said. “Palij’s removal sends a strong message: The United States will not tolerate those who facilitated Nazi crimes and other human rights violations, and they will not find a safe haven on American soil.”
The White House said Palij moved to the U.S. in 1949 and became a citizen in 1957 by hiding his background. He was deported to Germany even though he was born in a section of Poland that is now in Ukraine.
“Palij lied to United States immigration officials, saying that he had spent World War II working on a farm and in a factory,” Sanders said.
He admitted his Nazi past in 2001, and said he trained at a Nazi camp, Trawniki, known for training people to kill Polish Jews. Six thousand Jews were killed there in 1943, Sanders said.
“By serving as an armed guard at the Trawniki Labor Camp and preventing the escape of Jewish prisoners during his Nazi service, Palij played an indispensable role in ensuring that the Trawniki Jewish victims met their horrific fate at the hands of the Nazis,” she said.
Palij was ordered to be deported in 2004, and his appeal was denied in 2005. The White House did not explain why he was never deported, but said it has since prioritized the deportation of former Nazis.
