Immigrant shares story of 2-week detainment as Trump administration ramps up deportations

Local immigrant with no criminal record detained for 2 weeks

A man suspected of being in the United States illegally is now fighting removal procedures in hopes of normalizing his residency in the country. FOX 9's Paul Blume has the full story.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man suspected of being in the United States illegally, who has no criminal record, is sharing his story with FOX 9 Investigators after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than two weeks. 

The man, who lives in Hennepin County, has been in this country for years after fleeing Mexico. 

He was arrested by ICE officers at his home in February. An Immigration Court judge granted him a bond of $1500, the lowest amount allowed, in part because he has no criminal record.

Local immigrant detained 

What they're saying:

The man was arrested at a Hennepin County home he shares with family members. He said ICE officers arrived at the house early one February morning and told him they were looking for someone else. 

He was taken into custody and brought to the Sherburne County jail where he waited two weeks to see an Immigration judge.

"I tried to be calm. I tried to be strong with the experience inside there," he explained.

The FOX 9 Investigators sat in on his immigration court hearing, where Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attorneys acknowledged his only contact with police in his more than 10 years in the United States was for driving without a license. He had no other criminal record. 

The Immigration court judge granted him a $1,500 bond, the lowest allowed, in part because of his lack of criminal history and the fact he was initially detained in a collateral arrest. Meaning, he had not broken the law when he was taken into custody. 

The man in his mid-60’s subsequently posted his bond. He is now fighting removal procedures and hopes to normalize his residency in the United States. However, DHS is still pursuing deportation actions against him, working to return him to Mexico. The proceedings could take years to play out.

"This country has a name, ‘freedom.’ This country is USA," he said about his desire to remain in the United States.

Administration ramps up deportations

Big picture view:

As President Trump marks 100 days in office, his administration is touting its aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. According to the White House, approximately 140,000 people have been removed from the United States since he took office in January. They also point to a significant reduction in illegal border crossings.

"Make no mistake. If you are in the country illegally and you fail to do what the law requires, we will prosecute you, you will go to jail, then we will deport you," said Tom Homan, the President’s border czar, at a White House press briefing on Monday.

Minnesota immigration courts 

Local perspective:

FOX 9 Investigators spent several weeks observing removal proceedings in Immigration court — specifically arguments over bond hearings. That is where people who have been detained by ICE argue they should be released back to their families and back into the community, while they fight to stay in the United States. Local immigration attorneys say this used to be routine unless someone was facing serious allegations. But not anymore. They say they have observed government prosecutors taking a more hardline stance in court.

"If you get picked up and you do not have an immigration lawyer on your side or someone to help advocate for you, the odds of succeeding in these proceedings are very, very minimal," said Immigration attorney Paschal Nwokocha, who represents the detainee from Mexico.

Nwokocha said in the past, an immigrant contacted by authorities would have a bond set by ICE without a court hearing. But now, the detainees are taken into custody and wait to see a judge. In this case, it took his client two weeks just to have the lowest bond amount set for his release.

"What makes it another level of frustration is that the government didn't even set a bond for him when he was arrested," explained Nwokocha. "But a few years ago, the government would set a bond. And then, if you can afford it, you post the bond and you come out. But in this case, they did not even bother. They kept him there."

Nwokocha said it took him requesting a bond hearing to get his client in front of a judge.

"And then the judge, very sympathetic, agreed with us that there was no need to keep him there," said Nwokocha.

Dig deeper:

The FOX 9 Investigators sat in on more than 75 immigration hearings at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building over several weeks this spring, including a couple dozen bond arguments.

According to testimony in a number of cases, Homeland Security is running out of room for some of the immigrants currently detained at Minnesota’s three ICE-contracted jails in Sherburne, Freeborn, and Kandiyohi counties. That has led to detainees getting shipped out of state to facilities in Colorado, Texas, and Louisiana, delaying their proceedings.

Nwokocha worries about the impact it has as their cases have to be transferred into the new jurisdiction where they are moved.

"They end up spending weeks and months in ICE custody before a bond is heard and then a bond is set for their release," lamented Nwokocha.