In a straightforward turn of events, a Turkish national found himself on the wrong side of U.S. immigration law. The Justice Department announced that 60-year-old Izzet Kurt had pleaded guilty to charges of illegal reentry into the United States after a previous conviction for an aggravated felony. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville sentenced Kurt to a 60-day jail term and removal from the country.
Kurt, who was initially removed from U.S. soil back on March 15, 2018, after being convicted for conspiracy to smuggle aliens found his way back across the border in 2022 by paying smugglers a hefty sum of $12,000, against the order of an immigration judge not having received consent or permission to reenter the States. It wasn't until nearly three years later that Homeland Security Investigations, acting on a tip, discovered Kurt residing in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. After conducting surveillance on February 25, they managed to arrest him. Kurt has been in custody since that date.
Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Joseph Sonson took up the case, touting the collaborative efforts of the Pennsylvania Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative launched under President Trump's directive aimed at eradicating cartels and transnational criminal organizations, keeping a stern watch over illegal immigration and safeguarding communities from various transgressions. As both the instrument and benefactor of Operation Take Back America, Homeland Security Investigations received praise from Acting U.S. Attorney Rivetti for leading the probe culminating in Kurt's rearrest and subsequent prosecution.
