IREDELL COUNTY, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) — An illegally present Mexican national was deported from the United States following his release from prison on Thursday.

Bonifacio Cano Perez, 43, was in prison in North Carolina for causing the death of a pedestrian in an Iredell County parking lot in 2014.

Perez was taken initially approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in January of 2014 following his conviction for felony involuntary manslaughter.

According to court documents, Perez was driving through the parking lot of a Lowe’s Home Improvement when he hit and killed a 72-year-old man.

Perez was taken into ICE custody on Aug. 22 and on Oct. 3 a judge ordered he be removed from the United States.

“ICE is focused on identifying, arresting and removing public safety threats, such as convicted criminal aliens, as well as individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” said ERO Atlanta Field Office Director Sean Gallagher. “Our communities are safer for all persons when foreign nationals who pose a threat to public safety are removed from the streets.”

Since January, ICE arrests comprise over 70 percent of convicted criminals.