A statement from Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R,C,I,Ref-Mahopac)
August 27, 2018
“Last June, I joined Assemblyman Dov Hikind and 83 of my other Assembly colleagues from both sides of the aisle in calling for the immediate deportation of Nazi war criminal Jakiw Palij. Today, I am proud to report that after years of dedicated efforts, the federal government has finally heard our pleas and taken the steps necessary to deport this monster, whose illegally-obtained citizenship had been stripped once the truth regarding his past was revealed.
“As an armed guard at the Treblinka death camp, Palij was complicit in the deaths of thousands of men, women and children. The fact that this Nazi was allowed to illegally remain at his Queens residence for 14 years after losing citizenship is an insult to their memory, an affront to decency and a slight to those who survived the atrocities of the Holocaust. That being said, I am grateful to see justice finally served and will remain committed to ensuring that human-rights violators such as this are not extended the freedoms, liberties and privileges of American citizenship.”