U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested Sumith Gunasekera, a Sri Lankan national with past sex crime convictions in Canada who was working as an associate professor at Ferris State University in Michigan. ICE officers took him into custody in Detroit on November 12 as part of ongoing immigration enforcement, and authorities allege he is in the country without legal status.
Sumith Gunasekera, originally from Sri Lanka, first entered the United States in February 1998 before traveling to Canada later that year, according to information released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE and local news outlets report that he returned to the United States later in 1998 on a student visa despite having a criminal record in Canada. During his recent arrest in Detroit on November 12, Gunasekera told authorities he was working as an associate professor of marketing and data science and analytics at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.
According to an ICE statement cited by CBS Detroit and other outlets, Gunasekera’s criminal history dates back to 1998 in Ontario, Canada. Peel Regional Police in Brampton first arrested him on August 28, 1998, for uttering death threats. Three days later, he was arrested again on charges of invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference involving a minor.
On November 12, 1998, a court in Brampton convicted him of uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm and sexual interference. He was sentenced to one month in jail and one year of probation, ICE said.
Authorities say Gunasekera later faced criminal charges in the United States. ICE records, as reported by CBS Detroit and regional outlets, show that the Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas arrested him on September 25, 2003, for open and gross lewdness. In January 2004, a Las Vegas court convicted him of disorderly conduct and ordered him to pay fines.
ICE officials also said that when Gunasekera applied for a change in immigration status in 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services discovered his Canadian convictions, which officials say have made him ineligible for legal status. According to ICE, he has repeatedly attempted to obtain lawful status through applications, denials and appeals.
Following his arrest, Ferris State University placed Gunasekera on administrative leave. “Ferris State University leaders on Tuesday became aware of accusations regarding Professor Sumith Gunasekera. He has been placed on administrative leave while the university gathers more information,” Dave Murray, the university’s associate vice president for marketing and communications, said in a statement carried by CBS Detroit and local media. “This is a personnel issue and it would be inappropriate for the university to further discuss the matter,” he added.
A biography and course listings on Ferris State–related websites identify Gunasekera as teaching in the data science and analytics program and being involved with the Data Analytics Consulting and Research Center.
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin condemned the case in a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security and quoted by multiple outlets, including the Daily Wire and the Daily Caller News Foundation. “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 said. McLaughlin added, “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.”
Gunasekera remains in ICE custody pending further immigration proceedings. His arrest comes amid broader immigration enforcement actions under the current administration that emphasize the removal of noncitizens with criminal records, according to ICE statements and related reporting.
