A Belizean-American who was wrongfully detained and jailed by US Immigration officials, has won a major lawsuit against that agency.
Rennison Castillo was detained for seven months by U.S. Immigration at a detention center in Tacoma, Washington, while immigration officials prepared to deport him to Belize.
Castillo a naturalized U.S. citizen and army veteran was jailed for violating a protection order and harassment in a domestic dispute case.
Before being released from jail, he was questioned by an immigration officer who asked about his immigration status. Despite Castillo's claims of US citizenship, ICE took him into custody upon his release and began the process to deport him.
In a rare move, Castillo sued US Immigration and was awarded $400,000.00, and in addition was granted an apology. US Immigration says it's now reviewing how its agents handle cases when someone claims US citizenship.
Castillo's settlement with the Department of Homeland Security, under which the US Immigration department falls, comes more than five years after he was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite his repeated protests that he was a naturalized US citizen. The ICE agency said Castillo's immigration file was complicated by inaccuracies, including misspellings of his name. In an article written in the Seattle Times, Castillo is said to have told Immigration officials repeatedly that he was a US citizen and had served in the Army at Fort Lewis. The officials refused to listen to him, said Castillo, and were disrespectful. He said the officials told him that he would (quote): 'say anything to get out of detention'. 33 year old Castillo moved to the US when he was six and enlisted in the US army in 1996 until 2003, when he was honorably discharged.
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