(JTA) — A former guard at a Nazi concentration camp who was deported to Germany from the United States has died.
Jakiw Palij died on Jan. 9 at a nursing home in Germany at the age of 95, according to a report Friday by the Washington Post. He was 95 and had lived in Queens, New York until August. He served as a guard at the Trawniki concentration camp near Lublin, Poland, during World War II.
Members of New York’s congressional delegation in 2016 urged the Trump administration to deport Palij, whose citizenship was revoked in 2003 based on his wartime activities, human rights abuses and immigration fraud. A federal court also ruled that he had assisted in the persecution of prisoners at the camp, though it stopped short of finding him responsible for deaths.
A statement released by the White House after Palij landed in Germany early Tuesday commended President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for “removing this war criminal from United States soil.”
“Despite a court ordering his deportation in 2004, past administrations were unsuccessful in removing Palij,” the statement said. “To protect the promise of freedom for Holocaust survivors and their families, President Trump prioritized the removal of Palij.”
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