The children of immigrant families born in Florida generally expect their citizenship to protect them from immigration enforcement actions, but being born in the country does not prevent mistakes like unnecessary incarceration. The family of a man who was inappropriately taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has yet to receive any answers about why the agency threatened him with deportation.
The immigration agency has not released a statement after a man, who was born in the United States and served in the Marine Corps, was transferred from a county jail into ICE custody. Details shared by the family’s attorney revealed that local law enforcement had arrested the man for trespassing on the helicopter pad of a hospital. A judge had approved his release, but his name then appeared on a list from ICE, and the jail sent him away with detainees facing deportation.
The efforts of the attorney eventually secured the man’s release from detention. His mother said that her son was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after coming home from combat duty in Afghanistan. The incident prompted local advocates for immigrants’ rights to criticize the county jail system for cooperating with ICE.
In this era of aggressive actions by immigration authorities, a person confronted with the possibility of deportation may benefit from legal representation. An attorney may be able to gather evidence supporting the person’s right to be in the country and develop a deportation defense. By striving to communicate the facts of the situation to immigration officials, an attorney might counteract attempts to ignore legitimate evidence.
Source: WGBH, “ICE Tried To Deport This U.S. Citizen And Marine Veteran“, Dustin Dwyer, Jan. 17, 2019
