Thread: Government Wrongly Tries to Deport Him

Rennison Castillo Gets Apology and $400,000 After Government Wrongly Tries to Deport Him

Published February 28, 2011

Rennison Castillo, who is originally from Belize, but who became a U.S. citizen while serving in the U.S. Army, was detained for seven months by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. until his citizenship could be proven.

A U.S. Army veteran whom the U.S. government jailed and planned to deport – because it didn’t believe his claim that he was a U.S. citizen – has received a rare apology and $400,000 for his ordeal.

Rennison Castillo, a Washington state resident who was born in Belize and became a naturalized citizen, was locked up for seven months while immigration officials wrongly tried to deport him.

Castillo was transferred to the Northwest Detention Center in 2005 when he finished serving a jail sentence for violating a protection order and harassment.

The Army veteran explained repeatedly that he had become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998 while serving in the Army, but neither officials of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, nor an immigration judge believed him. He was finally released after the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Seattle attorneys took up his case on appeal.

"ICE officers did not listen to me when I told them repeatedly that I was a U.S. citizen and had served in the Army at Fort Lewis," he said in a statement..

"They were disrespectful and told me that I would say anything to get out of detention."

The government gave him a letter of apology written by the assistant U.S. attorney in Tacoma who handled the case.

"I believe that none of my clients ... would ever have wanted to, or knowingly would have, detained a veteran and a United States citizen," Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Lynch wrote. "We very much regret that you were detained."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said the agency now vets the citizenship claims of detainees much more closely, and if such claims appear credible, detainees are released.

In 2009, The Associated Press documented cases of 55 U.S. citizens wrongly detained by U.S. immigration officials in the past decade, including Castillo. Immigration lawyers believe there were hundreds more.

"Like other immigration detainees faced with deportation, Mr. Castillo was not entitled to a court-appointed attorney, and he could not afford to hire a private attorney," the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project said in a written statement.

In late 2009, a federal judge denied the government's motion to dismiss Castillo's lawsuit, which he filed in 2008.

Castillo, 33, of Lakewood, came to the United States at age 6 and later became a permanent lawful resident. He was sworn in as a citizen during his seven-year stint in the Army, which ended with his honorable discharge in 2003.

Castillo's case was complicated by the fact that his immigration files listed two names and misspelled versions of his first and last name. He also didn't have immediately family in the area to call for help.

Matt Adams, the legal director for the Northwest Immigrants Rights Project, told the Seattle Times that government's handling of Castillo "doesn't make sense on so many levels."

Adams noted that immigration officials had access to information that easily could have confirmed Castillo's claims of citizenship and U.S. military service. Adams said that at one point Castillo said to immigration officials: "Can we go to my car? My military card is in the trunk of my car."

This is based on a story by the Associated Press.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2 ... z1FIIMQQsK

It should not take 7 months to have straigthened this out. Castillo also has some fault in not correcting discrepancies in his name, if he had been aware of them.

"Yeah! wish I could be so lucky,"ICE removes Grouchy old Roofer by mistake!" Receives Apology and $400,000! Wonder if I could get this deal in Canada?

Lock my butt up for seven months and give me almost half a million. Heck, I'd laugh all the way to the bank.

Like miguelina, I too would like to know why it took seven months to clear this up. Additionally, normally the only immigrants allowed to join the military are green card holders, and green card holders aren't normally deported unless they've committed a felony crime. If this guy was a green card holder, why was he being deported? I think there is more to this story than we're being told. No naturalized citizen can be deported for any reason.

Castillo, 33, of Lakewood, came to the United States at age 6 and later became a permanent lawful resident. He was sworn in as a citizen during his seven-year stint in the Army, which ended with his honorable discharge in 2003

So he was illegal when the Military recruited him.

Sounds to me like the DREAMact was in place before it ever went up for a vote.

I've been falsely arrest twice, but was never compensated for it. In fact , I was falsely arrested on a DUI(I don't drink) but still had to pay 500.00 to get my truck out of impound.

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Castillo, 33, of Lakewood, came to the United States at age 6 and later became a permanent lawful resident. He was sworn in as a citizen during his seven-year stint in the Army, which ended with his honorable discharge in 2003

So he was illegal when the Military recruited him.

Sounds to me like the DREAMact was in place before it ever went up for a vote.

I've been falsely arrest twice, but was never compensated for it. In fact , I was falsely arrested on a DUI(I don't drink) but still had to pay 500.00 to get my truck out of impound.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so quick. You generally come in on a non permanent visa such as a temporary green card or a different type of visa at the time. Takes a bit of time before gain permanent residency for legal immigrants. Also suggests he became a permanent resident before he joined the military.

You *could* be right but best not jump to far ahead and risk bad assumptions like the other side.

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Castillo, 33, of Lakewood, came to the United States at age 6 and later became a permanent lawful resident. He was sworn in as a citizen during his seven-year stint in the Army, which ended with his honorable discharge in 2003

So he was illegal when the Military recruited him.

Sounds to me like the DREAMact was in place before it ever went up for a vote.

I've been falsely arrest twice, but was never compensated for it. In fact , I was falsely arrested on a DUI(I don't drink) but still had to pay 500.00 to get my truck out of impound.

I don't think he joined the military as an illegal alien. Not saying it isn't possible to falsify documents and get in. What I'm wondering is, was this guy appreheneded by law enforcement after committing a crime? The article doesn't say.

Castillo was transferred to the Northwest Detention Center in 2005 when he finished serving a jail sentence for violating a protection order and harassment. He likely had an immigrations hold placed on him before that sentence was completed.