Lawsuit: ICE detained US citizen for a week in Tacoma

[Judi Lynn]

BY GENE JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
JUNE 11, 2021 06:57 PM

SEATTLE
A naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying the agency held him in detention for a week even though he had his passport with him and repeatedly insisted he was an American.

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Everett resident Carlos Rios, identified as a native of Mexicali, Mexico, who has been in the U.S. since the 1980s and became a citizen in 2000.

“I cannot understand why I was detained and why no one listened to me,” Rios said in a news release issued by the immigrant rights group. “I had my U.S. passport with me when I was detained, and I told this to the immigration officers many times. I hope that this lawsuit can make a difference to ensure that others are not subjected to such terrible, unlawful treatment by U.S. immigration officials.”

The lawsuit says Rios was pulled over on his motorcycle in Pierce County in November 2019 on suspicion of driving under the influence. When he was released from jail the next day, two ICE officers were waiting for him.

More:
https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article252068868.html

Also posted in LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142755302

[KT2000]

1. this happened to a man here (NW Washington)

Border Patrol used to have people pull over before crossing the Hood Canal Bridge so they could question them and ask for proof of citizenship. They took a man who was an American citizen, out of his car, and then to the ICE jail in Tacoma and kept him for several days. It cost the family a lot of money to get him out.
Patty Murray heard about this and told the head of the local Border Patrol she wanted a meeting. He told her his work was classified and he could not meet with her. That lasted about 2 seconds and she put a stop to the traffic checks here.