A Kalamazoo doctor was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week, after living in the U.S. for nearly 40 years.
News outlets are reporting that Lukasz Niec and his family left Poland when he was five years old.
Those outlets have also reported that Niec has two convictions from when he was 17. One was for destruction of property worth less than $100 and receiving and concealing stolen goods.
Brad Maze is an immigration attorney in metro Detroit. He says ICE will try to use those convictions against him in court.
“Right now his green card is in balance. They're challenging whether or not he can retain his legal permanent resident status on it due to his convictions,” Maze said.
Niec is now in his 40s and has lived in the U.S. since he was five years old, according to a WOOD-TV interview with his sister Iwona Niec-Villare.
Niec’s family and ICE agents weren't immediately available for comment.
Maze says ICE has been looking at immigrants who have had removal orders in the past, "and are now re-arresting them and trying to remove them back to the countries of their nativity or citizenship."