Thread: American citizen held for seven months

American citizen held for seven months

Tacoma, WA - August 20, 2008

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DARREN BREEN/The News Tribune Rennison Castillo of Lakewood stands near the Northwest Detention Center on Tacoma’s Tideflats where he spent seven months trying to prove his U.S. citizenship after serving a criminal sentence in Pierce County Jail. Immigration officials say the confusion over his case is rare.


Comments (40) BELIZE NATIVE A VICTIM OF ‘BIZARRE GLITCH’immigration mix-up puts a Lakewood man and U.S. citizen behind bars for seven extra months and almost gets him deported.SCOTT FONTAINE; scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com Published: August 19th, 2008 01:00 AM | Updated: August 19th, 2008 10:33 AMRennison Castillo broke the law. He was punished for it. And he thought he had served his time. Instead, the last day of an eight-month jail sentence was the start of a seven-month nightmare that almost ended two years ago with Castillo – a Lakewood resident, Army veteran and American citizen – deported to Belize, a country he left as a child.
He spoke publicly about the incident for the first time earlier this month.

Immigration officials say his case was a rare mistake and that it has prompted closer scrutiny of citizenship claims. But advocates say it’s the kind of mix-up that’s bound to happen as the federal government aggressively moves to deport more criminal immigrants while limiting their access to the legal system.

It began in November 2005, as Castillo finished his sentence at Pierce County Jail. He was filling out paperwork and turning in his uniform when a jail employee told him federal officials had put an immigration hold on him.

“I didn’t think at the time that it would be any big deal,â€

The problem here is that illegal aliens already inside of America should not be given green cards or be allowed to naturalize from within the USA!

W

He dropped the ball (actually more than one ball) himself. When his citizenship papers didn't arrive in the mail, why didn't he call to inquire?? Where was his green card? How did he fly overseas without a passport? The judge is right, where was his proof that he was a citizen? Illegal aliens claim that all the time, but cannot prove it.


I keep my citizenship document in a safe deposit box at all times. It costs several hundred dollars and takes about a year to get a copy, it's that valuable!