U.S. citizen held in migrant detention for nearly a month

A United States citizen has been detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for nearly a month, his lawyer confirmed to CBS News.

Francisco Erwin Galicia was born in Dallas in 2000, a birth certificate provided by his lawyer, Claudia Galan, shows. Galan told CBS News she has provided ICE with several documents proving her client is a U.S. citizen. These documents include his birth certificate, his temporary I.D., health insurance cards and a high school school I.D.

The 18-year-old is still in detained, and Galan said she would be visiting the detention center on Tuesday to speak with his deportation officer.

Galicia and his 17-year-old brother were traveling with friends from Edinburg, Texas, where they live, to Ranger College on June 27. They were visiting the school in for a soccer scouting event, the boys’ mother, Sanjuana Galicia, told The Dallas Morning News.

Francisco Erwin Galicia was born in Dallas in 2000, a birth certificate provided by his lawyer, Claudia Galan, shows. He was detained by immigration officials on June 27. The Galicia Family

The brothers were detained at a CBP checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, Galan told the newspaper. Galicia’s younger brother, Marlon, was born in Mexico and lacked legal status. Both boys, however, were taken to a detention center.

After two days in custody, Marlon signed a voluntary deportation form and is now in Mexico with his grandmother. He said he did it so he could speak to his mother.

Meanwhile, inside the detention center, Francisco was unable to make phone calls for three weeks, his mother said. He has since been moved into ICE custody and was able to make a collect call to his mother on Saturday.

When they were first detained, Marlon only had a school I.D. and his older brother was carrying his Texas state I.D. card, which can only be obtained with a Social Security number, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Despite having a valid state I.D. card and U.S. birth certificate, his lawyer’s attempt to prove Francisco Galicia’s citizenship to CBP was unsuccessful. Galan told the paper she has now faxed over the same documents to ICE in hopes of getting him freed from custody. 

Categories: National, US & World News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *