3 hours ago
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The Trump administration has lashed out at a “sob story” published in the lefty New York Times defending a deported illegal migrant who was an admitted drug dealer convicted of kidnapping.
Nascimento Blair, a Jamaican migrant who was living in the US illegally after he overstayed a temporary visa, was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in New York in February and sent back to his native country.
Blair, 44, had been living freely in the Empire State since his release from prison in 2020, despite an immigration judge ordering his removal in 2008.
He had served 15 years behind bars after he was convicted in 2006 of kidnapping a neighbor whom he claimed had stolen marijuana from him.
In a fawning feature about Blair’s deportation — titled “21 Years Later, Deported Back to a ‘Home’ He Barely Knew” — the New York Times asserted that the illegal migrant “had been rebuilding his life and seeking redemption” before being deported on a “dizzying journey.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the profile conveniently “glossed over” Blair’s criminal past.
“Why does the New York Times continue to peddle sob stories about criminal illegal aliens and ignore their victims?” she questioned in a statement to The Post, adding that President Trump is focused on “arresting and deporting the worst of the worst,” including “convicted kidnappers.”
Blair’s kidnapping conviction stemmed from an incident in 2005 when he adopted a “side hustle of dealing marijuana” in the suburbs of New York, the Times wrote.
The illegal migrant claimed an 18-year-old who lived in his apartment building stole half a pound of marijuana and cash from him, but Blair failed to call the cops out of fear of being busted for the drugs.
Cops arrested Blair and two other men the next day for kidnapping the neighbor, holding him in a unit in the apartment building and ordering his father to pay them $5,000, according to the Times.
Police rescued the teen that night and found two handguns and two pounds of marijuana in the apartment, the outlet said.
“I got caught up selling weed and fell in love with the money,” Blair confessed to the Times, but maintained that he never held him against his will and never tied him up.
“Somebody took something from me, and I wanted to get it back,” he said.
Two of Blair’s accomplices accepted plea deals, while the illegal migrant pleaded not guilty to his seven felony counts of kidnapping and weapons charges.
Blair admitted to demanding cash from the victim, but testified that he never tied him up or held him captive.
Blair also testified that cops beat him while he was chained to a desk to coerce a statement that was then used in his trial.
A jury found Blair guilty of kidnapping in the first degree after deliberating for five days. He was sentenced to 15 years to life.
In the supportive profile, the Times highlighted Blair’s “rehabilitation” after serving time, in which the Jamaican citizen earned two college degrees, obtained a work permit, launched a trucking company and mentored others who had gone through the prison system.
He also took care of his fiancée with breast cancer and appeared for his check-ins at the ICE office in downtown Manhattan.
His last check-in with ICE was moved up ahead of its scheduled date, allowing federal agents to detain him swiftly.
Blair recalled one of the agents who detained him stating, “This is the new administration,” and that “you weren’t a priority then, you’re a priority now.”
English (US)