In the meantime, mistakes continue in an immigration system in dire need of repair. Case in point: several U.S. citizens have been arrested and even deported.
According to a Los Angeles Times article published yesterday, citizens and legal residents held for suspected immigration violations may be held under detention for hours or even months. “Americans seldom carry proof of their legal status” the article noted which hinders verification of legal status. The probability of error is increased by the “fast-track” deportation system which bars legal representation for detainees (though that could soon change).
Oftentimes, however, it is incompetence by authorities that leads to the deportation of U.S. citizens. In 2007, a mentally disabled U.S. citizen was erroneously deported to Mexico and spent three months missing before being reunited with his family. Then there’s the case of Rennison Vern Castillo- a U.S. citizen who spent several months in detention:
(In 2005) Castillo was handcuffed and whisked off in a van to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. A federal officer said records showed he was an illegal immigrant.Image- The Daily Weekly (Immigration officials conducted a raid last month in Washington).
"Your records are wrong," Castillo said he replied. He said he told the officer that he was a citizen but that his naturalization certificate had never arrived. It was sent to the wrong address, he later learned.
Castillo went before an immigration judge, who appeared via video conference, a common procedure in the crowded immigration court system. Again, he claimed citizenship. The judge didn't believe him. He was ordered deported on Jan. 24, 2006…
The Board of Immigration Appeals blocked Castillo's deportation, noting proof of his military service. A month later, he was released without further explanation. It turned out Castillo was the victim of a paperwork mix-up: His name was spelled wrong in immigration records. And he had been assigned more than one "alien number," causing further confusion. – [ed. emphasis added]
Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Latin Americanist
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