Suspects Told To ‘Learn English Or Go To Jail’ Are Being Deported

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) – Three men who got national attention when an eastern Pennsylvania judge ordered them to learn English as a condition of probation are in the process of being deported.

Rafael Guzman-Mateo, Ricardo Dominguez and Luis Reyes were among a group that committed an armed assault and robbery in Hazleton last year.

Last month, a Luzerne County judge ruled that the three could remain free on probation as long as they passed a test in English a year later, among other conditions.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Mike Gilhooly says the men were in the United States lawfully but because of their convictions they’re being deported. He says they were detained Monday and will go before a judge before being sent back to the Dominican Republic.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)