U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Sumith Gunasekera, a Sri Lankan national with a history of sex offenses, in Detroit on November 12, 2025. According to ICE, Gunasekera stated during processing that he was employed as an associate professor at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.
Gunasekera's criminal record includes several incidents. In August 1998, he was arrested twice by Peel Regional Police in Brampton, Ontario—once for uttering death threats and again for invitation to sexual touching and sexual interference involving a minor. He later admitted to police that the charges were related to a minor. On November 12, 1998, he was convicted in Brampton criminal court of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and sexual interference; he received one month of incarceration and one year of probation.
In September 2003, Gunasekera was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas for open and gross lewdness. The following year, the Las Vegas Justice Court convicted him of disorderly conduct and imposed fines.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the arrest: “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,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “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. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminals are not welcome in the U.S.”
Records show Gunasekera first entered the United States in February 1998 before leaving for Canada and then returning later that year on a student visa. When applying for a change of status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2012, his previous convictions in Canada came to light.
Officials state that over several years Gunasekera attempted multiple times to adjust his immigration status through applications, denials, and appeals despite his Canadian convictions making him ineligible for legal status in the U.S.
Gunasekera is currently being held by ICE pending further immigration proceedings.
