Latino

Dallas-born US citizen has been detained by Border Patrol, ICE for three weeks, lawyer says

by Chris Mills Rodrigo - 07/23/19 9:50 AM ET

An 18-year-old American citizen born in Dallas has been in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than three weeks, according to his attorney.

Claudia Galan told the Dallas Morning News Monday that Francisco Erwin Galicia was detained at a CBP checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, on June 27.

Galicia was detained while traveling to a soccer scouting event with his younger brother, Marlon, his mother told the outlet.

{mosads}Marlon Galicia was born in Mexico and lacks legal status in the U.S. When the two brothers reached a CBP checkpoint, Marlon only had a school ID card, while Francisco Galicia had his Texas ID, which can only be obtained with a Social Security number.

“We were confident that we’d be able to pass. We were going to do something good for our futures,” Marlon Galicia told the Dallas Morning News by phone from Reynosa, Mexico, where he is staying after signing a voluntary deportation form.

“I signed because I wanted to talk with my mom. Now, we just have to wait and see and hope that they release my brother,” Galicia said.

Francisco Galicia reportedly told his mother that he was detained because he didn’t have his U.S. passport. She told the Dallas Morning News that he did show the CBP officers his Texas ID.

The family’s attorney, Galan, told the outlet that she met with CBP officers last week and presented them with Galicia’s birth certificate and other documents but was unsuccessful in getting him released.

She plans on presenting the same documents later this week to ICE, whose custody Galicia was transferred to on Saturday.

“I presented them with his original birth certificate and other documents and they ignored them. So now I’ve faxed over all the documents to the ICE agent handling the case,” Galan told the outlet. “He’s going on a full month of being wrongfully detained. He’s a U.S. citizen and he needs to be released now.”

The Dallas Morning News reviewed a copy of the birth certificate and confirmed it lists Galicia as having been born at Parkland Memorial Hospital on Dec. 24, 2000.

Galicia has been released from ICE custody, ICE and CBP told The Hill in a joint statement Wednesday.

The agencies said they are still researching “the facts of the situation,” citing “conflicting reports from the individual and multiple birth certificates.”

“Both CBP and ICE are committed to the fair treatment of migrants in our custody and continue to take appropriate steps to verify all facts of this situation.”