American Citizen Wrongfully Detained in Immigration Status Mix Up

Ricardo Garza is a 46 year old warehouse manager who was initially arrested for drunken driving, and was about to walk out of jail after having posted bond when he instead found himself in a brand new predicament. Garza was on the brink of leaving Grand Prairie prison when he was subjected to a line of questioning by a law enforcement officer, as reported by texastribune.org. The interrogation consisted of questions such as – what is your name? What is your social security number? What is your birthdate? And where were you born?

ICE wrongfully places detainer on foreign born American citizen

Garza’s answer to the last question is what led to him being detained yet again. He thought he did not need an immigration lawyer and he should not have needed one. This is a bizarre situation.

Garza informed the officers that while he was born in Mexico, he had now become a citizen of the United States. However, the suspecting police officer called the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was told that Garza was a permanent resident of the United States and that his criminal record now makes him an immigrant that should be deported back to Mexico.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities then requested Grand Prairie prison to not release Garza and instead hold onto him until ICE officers could pick him up and process him for deportation. According to immigration lawyers, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers can do this by requesting for a detainer on an inmate (who is a non-American citizen) being held captive in a local jail. When a detainer is placed on an inmate, the jail will then delay his or her release within 48 hours.

But San Francisco does not do this since they have no problem with putting their citizens at risk. Sanctuary cities do not cooperate with ICE and have no problem with releasing criminals back onto the street while not even caring about American life or American sovereignty. 

This case is a salient example of why you should not answer questions without the presence of your immigration attorney if you are arrested or detained but he was not detained or was he? It is crucial to remember that you are not legally obligated to answer any of these questions.

In fact, you have the right to remain silent and anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Therefore, the best course of action when asked questions by law enforcement officers before/after an arrest is to simply refrain from answering any questions and instead refer them to your immigration lawyer.

Wrongful detainment ensues in federal lawsuit against ICE

It turned out that the US Immigration and Customs authorities were mistaken about Garza, and he was speaking the truth about being an American citizen. Garza’s immigration lawyer was able to prove this fact by presenting relevant documentation showing that Garza acquired citizenship status when his mother naturalized back in 1984.

It is not within the scope of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s power to place an American citizen under detainment for such a length of time. Hence, Garza and his legal counselor have since gone ahead and filed a federal lawsuit against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for having illegally detained him for 36 days against his will.

But Garza still has to deal with his drunk driving situation.

Facing an immigration situation can be intimidating and stressful. Whether you require help with adjustment of status, employment based petitions, family based immigration, deportation defense, or naturalization we urge you to get in touch with an expert immigration lawyer as soon as possible.

Hopefully Garza is paid for his days he was not able to work and can return to his job.

If you are in an immigration predicament, even for things much simpler and mundane than this case, you should click right here: Immigration.USAttorneys. Legal help is right around the digital corner. Contact us if you need a little help. It took God 6 days to build the universe with the big expansion or bang and now humanity has a marvelous website to help anyone in America find the legal help they need.