A Liberian national with a conviction for raping a child is now in federal custody after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Philadelphia region arrested him last month, the agency announced. Leo Robert Jackson was taken into custody on September 16, and officials say he already had a final order of removal against him when agents made the arrest.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia disclosed the arrest in an October 16 announcement, as reported by Shore News Network. The agency said Jackson's criminal record includes convictions for rape of a child, forgery, simple assault, criminal mischief, and failure to comply with sex-offender registration requirements. ERO Philadelphia described him as unlawfully present in the United States.
What ICE Has — and Hasn't — Disclosed
Beyond confirming the arrest date and Jackson's rap sheet, the agency's announcement was notably sparse on specifics. The report did not identify where Jackson was arrested, nor did it provide the dates or jurisdictions tied to his convictions. No sentencing details were released, and officials gave no timetable for when — or whether — his removal from the country will proceed.
Jackson's final order of removal means an immigration judge or other lawful process has already determined he is to be deported. Under federal law, specifically 8 U.S.C. § 1231, the government's removal period can stretch beyond the standard 90 days — and a person can remain detained during that extension — if they fail to cooperate in good faith with obtaining travel documents or otherwise act to block their own removal. ICE has separately stated that once someone is subject to a final removal order, its officers are authorized to carry out that removal, according to the agency's own release on a separate case involving a deported drug trafficker.
Part of a Broader Enforcement Push in the Region
Jackson's arrest comes amid a documented ramp-up in ICE activity across the Philadelphia area. Immigration advocates say at least 10 people have been arrested by ICE at Philadelphia International Airport since July 12, part of a nationwide expansion that began when the agency started deploying agents at U.S. airports in March, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nationally, the pace of ICE arrests topped 1,300 per day in June and climbed to a record 1,474 per day during the first eleven days of July, per the same report.
Not every airport detention has involved someone with a criminal record. The Inquirer's reporting also detailed the case of Iliana Lick, who was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport on July 11 and later transferred to a detention facility in New Mexico, despite having legally entered the country in 2023 and holding work authorization and a REAL ID driver's license. The contrast underscores how ICE's enforcement net in the region has swept up people with vastly different circumstances.
A Pattern of Regional Surge Operations
The Jackson arrest also follows a history of targeted enforcement surges by the Philadelphia field office. ERO Philadelphia previously completed Operation Cross Check, a ten-day surge that resulted in 29 noncitizens with criminal convictions being detained across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware, according to a release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has said that while its Enforcement and Removal Operations division primarily handles administrative arrests of people believed to be removable, it also holds authority to execute criminal arrest warrants and pursue prosecutions tied to immigration-related offenses.
For now, the agency's account of Jackson's case remains limited to what it disclosed in the October 16 announcement: his nationality, his criminal history, his final removal order, and his current status in ICE custody. Questions about where he was taken into custody, when his underlying convictions occurred, and what comes next in his removal proceedings remain unanswered by officials.
