Man illegally in country turned over to immigration officials after traffic stop, Nassau PD says

Nassau County police last week immediately turned over to federal immigration authorities a Guatemalan man who is in the country illegally, after he was arrested during a traffic stop, county officials said.

The man, who was living in Freeport, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor; third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a felony; and criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor; as well as several vehicle and traffic law infractions, police said.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced the March 27 arrest of Josue Oliva in a news release Friday. Blakeman said police immediately turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Oliva, 48, was given a desk appearance ticket and has not been arraigned, said Det. Lt. Scott Skrynecki, a spokesman for the police department.

The police department, in a statement, said Oliva had a warrant of removal, an administrative warrant, against him from ICE.

Oliva has an extensive criminal record and was previously deported following his entry to the United States in January 1993, according to Nassau County officials.

Oliva was arrested in California twice in 1993 on automotive grand larceny charges and was also arrested the following year in Nevada for burglary and grand larceny, Nassau officials said. And in 2014, he was arrested multiple times in both Texas and Kansas. He was deported to Guatemala that year, officials said.

Nassau authorities, citing the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Oliva had 16 documented aliases, seven different dates of birth and "two Alien Registration Numbers on file."

The news release noted that Oliva's arrest was not made by a group of Nassau detectives that are part of an agreement between the county and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist with arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants.

Blakeman has offered to assist President Donald Trump in his plan to execute mass deportations. Nassau is one of 187 counties across the country — and the second in New York State — to participate in ICE's 287(g) Program, which deputizes local authorities to arrest immigrants without legal status, Newsday has previously reported.

Immigrant advocates have warned against local police departments cooperating with ICE, saying it actually endangers communities because immigrants without legal status will hesitate to report crimes to the police out of fear that they would be arrested and deported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a message from Newsday about Oliva's case.

An attorney for Oliva could not be reached for comment.

According to police, Oliva, driving a white 2007 Honda Accord, was northbound on Nassau Road in Roosevelt when an officer pulled him over for having a broken taillight.

Oliva provided a fake name and presented a false ID to police during the traffic stop, police said in a statement provided to Newsday on Monday.

"After conducting an investigation, Officers located a broken glass pipe in the vehicle containing a burnt substance believed to be crack cocaine," police said in the statement.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.