Roberts Nemiro, a former contestant on the Latvian version of Dancing With the Stars, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California on Tuesday after overstaying his visa.
A Department of Homeland Security press release detailed Nemiro's criminal history, which includes arrests for sexual battery, aggravated assault and possession of drugs. According to DHS, he was previously convicted of aggravated assault of a non-family member with a gun.
ICE officers took Nemiro into custody on July 28 in San Francisco after receiving a referral from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Nemiro appeared on Dejo ar Zvaigzni!, the Latvian edition of Dancing With the Stars. He first entered the United States in October 2011 on a visa, which expired in August 2012, and DHS said he stayed in the country illegally after that. He is now in removal proceedings, per the DHS release.
Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement: "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."
"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," Bis said. She added, "ICE is bringing the curtain down on his illegal stay and crime spree here in the U.S."
Partner launches fundraiser
A GoFundMe page was created on Wednesday by Nemiro's partner, Lydia. She wrote that on July 28, she and Nemiro attended a scheduled USCIS interview for his marriage-based green card application with their immigration attorney, and that ICE officers detained him at the end of the interview based on the visa overstay.
Lydia said the couple had "followed the legal process to apply for a green card through adjustment of status" after their marriage. "We have worked hard to do everything we could the right way, and we never imagined that attending a required immigration interview would end with our family being separated," she wrote.
The day after his arrest, Nemiro was moved to an ICE detention facility in Bakersfield, California. Lydia said their immigration attorneys are working "urgently to pursue every available legal avenue to secure his release," and described the recent days as "overwhelming" and "the hardest of our lives."
She wrote that even after his release, "our legal journey will be far from over," and asked for donations toward legal expenses, or for people to share their story if they could not contribute.
The GoFundMe, titled "Support Robert & Lydia's Immigration Legal Fight," has nearly reached its $40,000 goal.
According to his LinkedIn page, Nemiro lists his career as a professional ballroom dance teacher and dancer based in the Bay Area.
