The passenger in the illegal-alien-driven vehicle that killed a woman in Lewiston on Friday was also an illegal immigrant from Angola and has been taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Despite his non-legal status, the passenger had been issued Maine driver’s license.
[RELATED: Illegal Alien Driving on Maine Permit Hits, Kills Pedestrian in Lewiston…]
Lionel Francisco, 31, an illegal immigrant from Angola, was driving on Friday afternoon when he allegedly crashed into and killed a Massachusetts woman in Lewiston’s Kennedy Park. At the time, Francisco was operating under a Maine learner’s permit.
As a result of its continued investigation, The Maine Wire can confirm that the passenger, Wilson Antonio Pedro, 34, has also been taken into ICE custody and is currently being held in the Strafford County Jail in New Hampshire, which partners with ICE to hold illegal immigrant prisoners awaiting deportation. Francisco is being held in the same facility.
The Lewiston Police Department did not release Pedro’s name along with their press release on the incident, but Lewiston Police Lt. Derrick St. Laurent confirmed Pedro’s identity. Pedro was living in Westbrook at the time of his arrest.
Maine’s partially taxpayer-funded National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, Maine Public, falsely reported on Tuesday that Pedro did not appear in ICE’s detainee database, though The Maine Wire can confirm that he has been listed there since at least Monday.
Since Francisco was operating with a learner’s permit, he was required to have a licensed driver in the passenger seat. That driver was Pedro, who, St. Laurent confirmed, held a Maine driver’s license.
Though foreigners in the U.S. legally are allowed to obtain Maine driver’s licenses, provided they submit more documentation than is required of citizens, Maine has not yet joined states like Massachusetts, California, and New York in allowing illegal immigrants to obtain licenses.
Law enforcement did not specify whether Pedro or Francisco entered the U.S. illegally or whether they entered legally but overstayed their visas. If they entered legally, it is possible that Pedro obtained his license prior to his visa’s expiration.
