A Sri Lankan–born university lecturer in the United States has been taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over past criminal convictions in Canada, which U.S. authorities say make him ineligible to remain in the country.
According to the university’s official website, Sumi Gunasekera serves as the director of its Data Analytics Consulting and Research Center and is also listed as an assistant professor of marketing.
DHS said in a recent statement that Gunasekera “remains in ICE custody pending further immigration proceedings.” U.S. immigration officials have not disclosed where he is being held.
The DHS release states that a criminal court in Brampton, Ontario, convicted Gunasekera in 1998 of “uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm” and “sexual interference.” He was sentenced to one month in jail and one year of probation. The Ontario Court of Justice confirmed that the case is now archived, and no further details were available.
U.S. authorities said these convictions rendered him “ineligible for legal status in the United States.”
A DHS spokesperson quoted in the statement strongly criticised the fact that Gunasekera had been working in academia, saying, “It’s sickening that a sex offender was working as a professor on an American college campus and was given access to vulnerable students… Thanks to the brave ICE officers, this individual is behind bars and no longer able to prey on Americans.”
Gunasekera’s immigration case is now proceeding through U.S. authorities, and no timeline has been given for a final decision.
