U.S. will seek to deport captain of boat that capsized in New York, killing mom and baby

The federal government will look to deport a man accused of illegally operating a boat that capsized in New York Harbor this month, killing a woman and her infant daughter.

Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana, a native of El Salvador, illegally entered the U.S. through Texas in 2007 after having falsely told a Customs and Border Protection officer that he was a U.S. citizen, the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release Wednesday.

Hernandez, 46, of Manville, New Jersey, was charged with two counts of misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death after the boat capsized near Liberty Island on Aug. 8. Sara Sanchez, 27, and her 5-month-old daughter, Antonella Garcia, were killed .

“Once he faces justice for his crimes, we will make sure that he is swiftly removed from our country,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement accompanying the news release.

Hernandez’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday night. Hernandez was released on $50,000 bail following a hearing Aug. 10, at which he was not required to enter a plea, NBC New York reported .

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Hernandez had not registered the boat he was captaining, did not have the certification to operate it in the harbor with paying customers and did not have infant-sized flotation devices on board.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez was using a friend’s boat to pilot a tour around the harbor near the Statue of Liberty because his needed repairs. Fourteen people were on board, including him — exceeding the vessel’s maximum capacity of 10 people — according to the complaint, which noted that Hernandez did not know the boat’s maximum capacity.

The complaint alleges that Antonella’s parents told Hernandez before boarding that they did not have an infant-sized flotation device for the baby, to which he replied that the boat also did not have one and that instead, one of them would need to wear a flotation device and hold the baby during the tour, which Sanchez did.