RIGHTS-US: Byzantine World of Immigration Detention

[kpete]

RIGHTS-US: Byzantine World of Immigration Detention
By William Fisher

NEW YORK, Jul 22 (IPS) - Duarnis Perez, a native of the Dominican Republic, became a U.S. citizen at 15 when his mother was naturalised. But he didn't know that meant he was also a citizen. He thought he was an illegal immigrant, and so did the authorities.

He was deported and subsequently arrested trying to sneak back into the U.S. from Canada. Perez spent almost five years in prison for unlawful reentry. But when he was released in 2004, an official of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) reviewed his file and told him he had been a citizen all along.

The Perez case is one of a growing chamber of horrors coming under increasing scrutiny by Congress, the courts and civil liberties advocates.

ICE officials downplay the problem. "ICE does not detain United States citizens," said spokesman Richard Rocha, adding that agents thoroughly investigate people's claims of citizenship.

more:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47759