In a stunning and deeply disturbing revelation that underscores the critical importance of a robust and vigilant immigration enforcement policy, a convicted sex offender was discovered to have been working as a college professor in Michigan, a situation that was only rectified through the decisive action of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. This case exposes a grotesque failure in the systems meant to protect the public and highlights the stark contrast between the current administration’s commitment to law and order and the previous era of lax oversight and dangerous open-border advocacy. The individual at the center of this scandal, Sumith Gunasekera, a national of Sri Lanka, was arrested by ICE in Detroit on November 12, following a press release from the Department of Homeland Security which laid out his extensive and reprehensible criminal history.
According to the official DHS press release, Gunasekera openly admitted to the arresting officers that he was employed as an associate professor at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan. This position, which placed him in a position of authority and trust over vulnerable young adults, was held by a man whose past convictions should have permanently barred him from ever setting foot on American soil, let alone shaping the minds of students. The DHS report stated that his arrest was for charges including “invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference,” and he explicitly told officers that this incident involved a minor. This admission alone paints a picture of a predator who should have been the top priority for deportation, not someone allowed to repeatedly manipulate and exploit a broken system for years on end.
The sordid details of Gunasekera’s past, as meticulously documented by DHS, reveal a pattern of criminal behavior that spans decades and international borders. During a stint in Canada, he was arrested in Brampton, Ontario, on two separate occasions just three days apart. The first arrest was for the serious charge of uttering death threats, while the second was for the same predatory offenses of “invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference,” which again, involved a minor. In November 1998, a Canadian criminal court convicted him of “utter threat to cause death or bodily harm and sexual interference,” sentencing him to one month of incarceration and one year of probation. This is not a man who made a single, isolated mistake; this is a repeat offender with a demonstrated propensity for violence and sexual misconduct.
Despite these foreign convictions, Gunasekera continued to navigate the United States’ immigration landscape. The press release further details that he ran afoul of the law yet again in Las Vegas, where he was arrested for “open and gross lewdness” in September 2003, and was subsequently convicted of disorderly conduct just four months later. The pivotal moment came in 2012 when Gunasekera filed for a change in immigration status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It was at this point that his Canadian convictions finally came to light, and officials correctly determined that these convictions rendered him “ineligible for legal status in the United States.” However, rather than accepting this justified ruling, Gunasekera, the DHS release states, “repeatedly attempted to manipulate our immigration system between applications, denials, and appeals.” This is a textbook example of how illegal immigrants game the system, a system that the Trump administration is now forcefully fixing.
The righteous anger over this case was perfectly captured by Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, whose powerful statement stands in direct opposition to the soft-on-crime, open-borders rhetoric that has been championed by the liberal media and the previous administration.
McLaughlin declared, “It’s sickening that a sex offender was working as a professor on an American college campus and was given access to vulnerable students to potentially victimize them.” She continued, delivering a message of resolve and strength that is the hallmark of President Trump’s America, saying, “Thanks to the brave ICE law enforcement officers, this sicko is behind bars and no longer able to prey on Americans. His days of exploiting the immigration system are OVER. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminals are not welcome in the U.S.” This is the kind of unequivocal leadership that protects American citizens, a stark departure from the policies that allowed such dangerous individuals to roam free.
As of the latest updates, the bureaucratic inertia that often protects such individuals was still somewhat visible, with Gunasekera’s profile remaining listed on the Ferris State website as an assistant professor of marketing. However, in a statement from Dave Murray, Ferris State associate vice president for marketing and communications, the university confirmed that “He has been placed on administrative leave while the university gathers more information.” Meanwhile, a federal immigration database confirms that Gunasekera remains in ICE custody at a federal facility in Baldwin, Michigan, with further immigration proceedings pending. This case is a chilling reminder of the very real threats that exist and a powerful vindication of an immigration policy that prioritizes the safety and security of the American people above all else.