NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal immigration officers arrested a 55-year-old Sudanese national convicted of first-degree attempted murder in a South Nashville apartment, more than 17 years after an immigration judge ordered him removed from the country, ICE announced.
Gabriel Maror Ayuel was taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations New Orleans officers on May 5 after months of investigation. Ayuel was convicted of first-degree attempted murder in Davidson County in 2003 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“Removing illegal aliens with serious criminal convictions from our communities is essential to protecting public safety,” said Brian Acuna, ERO New Orleans acting field office director. “We are committed to enforcing immigration laws and prioritizing cases that pose a threat to our neighborhoods.”
Ayuel entered the United States as a refugee from Sudan in 1995. Beyond the attempted murder conviction, his criminal record includes arrests for driving under the influence and failure to appear in Georgia, as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, felony possession of a prohibited weapon, and felony flight to avoid prosecution in Tennessee.
An immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Ayuel in July 2008. He never departed the country, remaining in the United States for more than 17 years in defiance of the order — a felony offense under federal immigration law. ICE officers located Ayuel in an apartment in South Nashville, where he told officers he had moved in just one week before his arrest.
Ayuel will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.