Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.
Immigration enforcement records (e.g., DHS/ICE) or court/agency records confirm the individual's prior deportation occurred before the incident.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS/ICE) publicly stated the suspect — identified as Werner Orosco‑Clemente, aka Wilmer Fuentes Mejia — “was ordered removed by an immigration judge in December 2019, and ICE removed him in 2020.” Local reporting (WRAL) and other contemporaneous news accounts record prosecutors and ICE saying he had been deported previously (WRAL reports he was deported twice) and confirm ICE lodged a detainer. Verdict: True — an official DHS press release and multiple local news reports corroborate that the suspect had been previously deported.