A one-armed Guatemalan migrant who snuck back into the US illegally after being deported nearly a decade ago is accused of fleeing the scene of a New Jersey hit-and-run, authorities and sources said.
Hugo Paz Lajuj, 28, was arrested Thursday in Bergen County, exactly a month after he allegedly plowed into an unnamed 17-year-old pedestrian — who was hospitalized with serious injuries — with his 2004 Honda Civic, according to prosecutors.
After allegedly fleeing the scene, Lajuj repaired the damages to his car in a bid to cover up the crime, prosecutors said.
Lajuj is charged with knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, hindering apprehension, tampering with physical evidence and fourth-degree obstruction of justice.
He is currently in custody at Bergen County Jail. But in case he’s released, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer for his arrest, according to federal law enforcement sources.
Lajuj was apprehended by border agents in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley in 2015 and subsequently asked to self-deport, which was formally permitted by an immigration judge months after he crossed the border, said sources.
However, Lajuj snuck back into the US without getting caught at an unknown time and place, per sources.
After border crossings under the Biden-Harris administration exceeded 10 million, the incoming Trump administration is pushing to tackle illegal immigration in a mass deportation effort that will prioritize migrants who’ve committed crimes.
One major obstacle to the effort would be sanctuary cities, like the Big Apple. Still, President-elect Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, who formerly served as acting ICE director, told The Post Monday that while he hopes they can pressure sanctuary jurisdictions with lawsuits or threats to withhold funding, they will still get the job done.
If the feds have to work alone, they’ll “wait” until suspects “get out of jail, then we’ll go out into the neighborhoods and get them,” said Homan.
He warned: “If they’re not willing to do it then get out of the way — we’re coming.”