United States Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) almost deported a Marine veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder after detaining him for three days before federal authorities realised he was an American citizen, a human rights group has said.
Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, 27, was held in Kent County jail after allegedly trespassing and damaging a fire alarm at a Grand Rapids hospital on 21 November, an act of disturbance his PTSD had a role in prompting, according to his lawyers.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said Mr Ramos-Gomez pleaded guilty to his charges and was expected to be released on December 14 while awaiting his sentence, but ICE contacted the jail and requested the veteran be held for pickup.
Kent County Undersheriff Chuck DeWitt said ICE, not unlike other law enforcement agencies, has access to fingerprint records.
“Once he was released from our custody, he was under the domain of ICE,” Mr Dewitt told the Associated Press. “Where they take him is their process,” DeWitt said. “Our procedures were followed.”
Mr DeWitt said he is uncertain whether or not the native-born American veteran protested when immigration officers picked him up.
Mr Ramos-Gomez was then taken to a detention center in Battle Creek—about 70 miles from the Kent County jail.
“Why did they think he was a non-citizen? Did they get him confused with someone else? Who knows,” ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman told AP. “This is an individual who’s incredibly vulnerable with a mental illness.”
Mr Ramos-Gomez was released three days later on 17 December from a detention centre in Calhoun County after his lawyer, Richard Kessler, contacted ICE on behalf of Mr Ramos-Gomez’s family and showed personal records proving his citizenship.
ICE said the department could not respond to media inquiries because of the partial government shutdown.
Mr Ramos-Gomez was a lance corporal in the Marines and received awards for his military service in Afghanistan.
The ACLU is asking Kent County sheriff and county commissioners to launch a probe into the jail’s role in handing Mr Ramos-Gomez over to ICE.
Ms Aukerman called the veteran’s treatment “appalling.”
