Arizona AG queries ICE about arrest of New Mexico man
Migrants wait throughout the night on May 10, 2023, in a dust storm at Gate 42, on land between the Rio Grande and the border wall, hoping they will be processed by immigration authorities before the expiration of Title 42. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM)
Arizona's top state prosecutor is seeking more information about immigration officials' arrest of a U.S. citizen from New Mexico earlier this month.
A federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona on April 9 filed a criminal complaint against 19-year-old Jose Hermosillo, of Albuquerque.
The complaint alleges that on April 8, immigration agents found Hermosillo 'without proper immigration documents' near Nogales, Arizona.
Arizona Public Media reports that Hermosillo and his girlfriend were visiting from Albuquerque to see family in Tucson, Arizona. The radio station reports that Hermosillo said he has never been to Nogales and that he was held in the Florence Correctional Center for 10 days.
A few days after the U.S. Marshals took Hermosillo to Florence, his family presented documents showing his U.S. citizenship, according to a statement provided to Source on Monday in response to an emailed inquiry to its Office of Public Affairs email address. The statement is attributable to a 'senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security official,' the unsigned email said.
On Monday morning, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes posted on X that her office had reached out to ICE for more information about Hermosillo's arrest, 'for answers on how this was allowed to happen to an American citizen.'
'It is wholly unacceptable to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens,' she wrote.
A spokesperson for Mayes' office told Source NM in an email that the request was made over the phone but declined to comment further.
The complaint, signed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a prosecutor, alleges that Hermosillo 'admitted to illegally entering the United States from Mexico' on April 7. It also wrongfully states that he is a 'citizen of Mexico.'
According to the DHS official, Hermosillo 'said he wanted to turn himself in and completed a sworn statement identifying as a Mexican citizen who had entered unlawfully.' 'This arrest was the direct result of Hermosillo's own actions and statements,' the DHS official said.
A federal judge dismissed the case on April 17, court records show. The DHS official said Hermosillo was then released to his family.
The judge's dismissal order states that the government moved to dismiss the case. In an email on Monday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona declined to answer Source NM's questions about the case, and wrote, 'The U.S. Attorney's Office does not have anything to add beyond what is found in the public record.'
The case against Hermosillo is absent from a news release the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona published three days after his arrest, in which the agency touted 'immigration-related criminal charges' it had filed in the previous week.
Requests for comment from ICE and Hermosillo's attorney were not returned on Monday.
John Mitchell, immigrants' rights attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, told Source NM that we don't have a full account of what transpired in Hermosillo's case but people who suffered a wrongful arrest or detention can generally seek relief by filing a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act, detailing any harm they suffered at the hands of the federal government's agents. Someone who brings a claim would have to show that their arrest lacked probable cause and that the arrest caused a tangible injury, Mitchell said.
People can also bring suits against the government for violations of their constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, commonly known as Section 1983 claims, Mitchell said. These claims typically involve violations such as wrongful arrest or excessive force, and can result in monetary or injunctive relief against the government, he said.
'In both types of cases, a central and challenging issue is to connect the harm suffered to the relief sought (e.g. money),' Mitchell said. 'Obviously, the duration of wrongful detention is important. Other details matter; what did officers say to the plaintiff or to each other? Any indications of animas or hostility? These can all factor in.'
The Florence Correctional Center where Hermosillo was detained is a prison complex that CoreCivic privately owns and operates, Mitchell said. The prison holds, among others, immigrants in removal proceedings, he said.
In 2022, a Mexican national named Benjamin Gonzalez-Soto died while in ICE custody at FCC, Mitchell noted.
This story was updated following publication to include comment from the ACLU of Arizona.
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