The Department of Homeland Security confirmed this week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assisted in the arrest of Rolbert Joachin, a Haitian illegal immigrant accused of killing a Florida mother with a hammer.
President Donald Trump responded to the news by highlighting the suspect’s immigration history, noting that Joachin had been released into the interior of the country in 2022 despite a federal judge issuing a final order of removal against him.
Trump characterized the event as a direct consequence of current border policies, stating that the “targeted and systemic” release of illegal immigrants is creating a “border bloodbath” that endangers American citizens.
The victim, 51-year-old Nilufar Yasmin, was working as a clerk at a Fort Myers gas station when the attack occurred on April 2.
According to store records, Joachin had been at the station the previous day attempting to withdraw money from an ATM.
When the transaction failed, he reportedly demanded cash from Yasmin, who explained she could not provide store funds for a private ATM error. Surveillance footage from the following day allegedly shows Joachin smashing the windshield of Yasmin’s car. When she stepped outside to confront him, the footage shows the suspect striking her multiple times in the head with a hammer. The footage is too graphic and disturbing to post.
Records show that while Joachin was ordered deported in 2022, the Biden administration granted him Temporary Protected Status, which eventually expired in 2024.
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Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis issued a statement regarding the oversight, saying, “This illegal alien barbarically hit this woman in the head multiple times with a hammer. This heinous murderer was released into the country by the Biden administration. Not only did the Biden administration release him into the country, but they then gave him Temporary Protected Status. Their reckless immigration policies cost this woman her life.”
The manhunt for Joachin involved a massive mobilization of local and federal resources.
Fort Myers Police Chief Jason Fields said his department placed “a cop on every single block” and used K-9 units and aviation support to track the suspect to Mango Street. ICE has now lodged a detainer against Joachin, ensuring his deportation regardless of the trial’s outcome.
He is currently being held without bond on charges of homicide and property damage, with his next court date scheduled for May 4.
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