Federal immigration authorities have arrested a former contestant on Latvia’s version of «Dancing with the Stars» after determining that he had remained in the United States beyond the expiration of his visa and had a criminal record that includes aggravated assault with a gun, sexual battery and drug-related offenses.
The arrest of Roberts Nemiro, a Latvian national, took place Tuesday in San Francisco, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Friday. Agents made the arrest after a referral from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Homeland Security said Nemiro is now in removal proceedings.
Nemiro previously appeared on «Dejo ar zvaigzni!», the Latvian adaptation of the British television format known in the United States as «Dancing with the Stars». According to DHS, he entered the country on a visa in October 2011 but remained after it expired in August 2012.
His criminal history includes convictions for aggravated assault of a non-family member with a gun and disorderly conduct. DHS also said he has been arrested on charges of battery, sexual battery, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement that Nemiro had traded a career as a professional dancer for a life of crime. «This illegal alien from Latvia may have once had a career as a professional dancer on TV, but has turned into a career criminal with a rap sheet that includes aggravated assault with a gun, sexual battery, and drug possession,» Bis said.
Bis also highlighted the arrest in the context of California’s sanctuary policies. «Despite California being a sanctuary state, ICE was able to arrest this criminal and get him off our streets, and he will soon be deported from our country,» she said. «ICE is bringing the curtain down on his illegal stay and crime spree here in the U.S.»
The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues to emphasize enforcement against noncitizens accused or convicted of violent crimes and has repeatedly criticized California for limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. In Friday’s release, DHS cited several recent California cases and argued that sanctuary policies have complicated federal efforts to detain and remove people in the country illegally.
The case is part of a broader federal push to deport immigrants with criminal records. DHS has said removal operations are contributing to falling crime rates in American cities. A mid-year analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice found that homicides in a sample of large U.S. cities were down 18% from the previous year, on pace for the lowest level since 1900. The same report found that carjackings fell 47% from the previous year, motor vehicle thefts fell 20%, robberies fell 17% and residential burglaries fell 13%.
Bis pointed to that trend as evidence that enforcement is working. «It is common sense. When you remove criminals from the country, crime rates fall,» she said.
Recent deportation cases cited by DHS include a Honduran national linked to the Tren de Aragua gang who had been convicted of robbery, a Mexican national with convictions for homicide and illegal re-entry, and a Laotian national convicted of cocaine possession, weapons possession and fraud, among other offenses.
DHS has said Nemiro is in removal proceedings and will soon be deported from the United States.
