Sergio Ramirez, an Illinois resident who had lived in the U.S. since age 16, left the country on September 7 after spending months in immigration detention. He returned to Zacatecas, Mexico, his wife told the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ramirez’s green card application had already been approved before his detention.
How it happened
On May 29, Sergio and his wife Kristina Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, were near the U.S.-Canada border when they realized they were heading the wrong way and turned around. Federal agents pulled them over, searched their car, and questioned them.
Sergio was detained for three months before deciding to self-deport after receiving legal advice. Kristina said she was also detained for three days, though CBP disputes that, claiming she was only referred to secondary inspection for lacking the proper U.S. travel documents and admitted back into the country on June 1.
Disputed detention
Kristina said she showed her driver’s license but was still questioned about her parents’ birthplace and accused of being “illegal.”
A CBP spokesperson told Newsweek:
“The assertions Mrs. Ramirez was held by CBP for 3 days are a bold face lie. Her and her husband were referred to secondary for not having the proper U.S. travel documents on May 31.”
CBP added that Sergio was determined “removable from the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act” and was turned over to ICE.
No criminal record
Sergio said he had no criminal record, a legit Social Security number, and a work permit. Kristina expressed disbelief at the situation:
“I’m an American citizen, and we have all our documents. Who’s thinking that, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to take us?’”
The Department of Homeland Security stated:
“Being married to a U.S. citizen, or any pending application for a visa, does NOT shield an illegal alien from removal proceedings. All of his claims will be heard by an immigration judge. The Trump administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.”
Voices from the family
Sergio told the Chicago Sun-Times:
“There’s a lot of people that came to the United States to work and better their lives, and not everybody’s the same. There’s some people that are bad, but not all of them. We still have a lot of good people out there.”
Kristina added:
“My greatest fear already happened. My greatest fear was that he self-deported.”
Kristina said she plans to travel to Mexico to reunite with her husband and determine whether he can legally return to the U.S. or if they will have to stay in Mexico.
Leave a Reply