Indian National Convicted For Resisting Deportation Orders

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a federal jury found Pal Sat, 42, of India, guilty of two counts of impeding or hampering his deportation.  United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.

 The defendant’s trial started Thursday and ended this afternoon with the jury returning the guilty verdict after deliberating for 45 minutes.  Witness testimony and documents admitted at trial revealed that on Sept. 12, 2012 and Oct. 16, 2012, U.S. Immigration Enforcement Agents (IEA) brought the defendant to the Alexandria International Airport and attempted to put him on a commercial flight.  The defendant began verbally and physically resisting officers, which prevented him from boarding the flight because of airline and Transportation Security Administration policies.

 "The defendant’s actions showed that he had little respect for the law in this matter,” Finley stated.  “His refusal to comply with lawful deportation orders on multiple occasions caused unnecessary cost to the taxpayers.”

 Sat faces four years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release for each count.  Sentencing has been set for Sept. 27, 2013.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. France and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Gillespie Jr. are prosecuting the case.