Former Nazi guard Jakiw Palij seen at his home in Queens, New York City. (Screen capture: YouTube)
The entire New York congressional delegation has sent a letter to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging him to deport a former Nazi concentration camp guard.
Jakiw Palij, 92, a resident of Queens, New York, was a guard at the Trawniki concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943.
The letter calling for his deportation was signed by all 29 members of Congress representing New York, both Democrat and Republican, the New York Daily News reported. In August, 21 members of the New York’s House delegation wrote a similar letter to Tillerson.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDS)
Palij, who has lived in the United States as a war refugee since 1949, has claimed that he was forced into working as a guard and never actually killed anyone. His US citizenship was revoked 13 years ago after a federal judge ruled that he lied on his application for immigration, but Poland, Germany and Ukraine all declined to take him.
“Removing Mr. Palij from American soil will send a message not only to the citizens of New York, but to the entire world,” the letter said. “It has been 13 years since Mr. Palij lost his right to remain here, and it has taken far too long for these court orders to be carried out,” the letter also said.
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