Latest news with #KasperEriksen
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Man, 31, in U.S. legally for 12 years ripped from family, detained by ICE
A 31-year-old Danish national with no criminal record who has been living in the U.S. legally for more than 10 years was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials during a routine appointment to finalize his citizenship, according to multiple media reports. Kasper Eriksen, a green card holder who works as a welder in Sturgis, Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and four children, was unexpectedly taken into custody on April 15 and later transferred to the LaSalle Detention Center in Louisiana, Newsweek reported. The 31-year-old, according to his wife, Savannah Hobart Eriksen, first moved to the States as an exchange student in 2009 and returned to Denmark. He returned to the U.S. legally in 2013 after he and his wife married and he began the legal process of becoming an American citizen. In September 2024, according to the outlet, the Eriksens received word that his application was under review and on March 7, an interview for his naturalization application was scheduled. ICE officials reportedly detained the 31-year-old for failing to file a single document, due in 2015, around the same time the couple lost their first child in a stillbirth. Amidst their grief, they forgot to file Form I-751, the Mississippi Free Press reported. More than a month later, the Danish national remains in a Louisiana detention center with dozens of other detainees, unsure about his future, where he might get sent, and without a date scheduled for a court to hear his case. 'This situation has not only detained Kasper but has also placed an emotional, mental burden upon our children and me,' Savannah, a stay-at-home mom who homeschools their children, told Newsweek. 'The financial strain of paying our regular bills and attorney/court fees, however, we are thankful we have friends and our community for their love and support.' In a GoFundMe campaign organized on behalf of the Eriksen family, Kasper is described a devoted father and husband, a proud landowner in the U.S. with a valid driver's license and social security number, who has always paid his taxes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dad Of 4 Detained At Final Citizenship Interview After Spending Years Going Through Process
A Danish father who came into the United States legally and was in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen has now spent well over a month in immigration detention after he was taken into custody at his citizenship interview in April. Savannah Eriksen, the wife of 32-year-old Kasper Juul Eriksen, told Mississippi Today that her husband 'was detained for a paperwork miscommunication from 2015, and I was sent home with no explanation and no idea where my husband had been transported.' Savannah Eriksen said her husband had been going through the process of trying to become a citizen 'for years.' The couple met in 2009 when Kasper Eriksen left his hometown of Aalborg, Denmark, to come to the U.S. as a high school exchange student in Starkville, Mississippi, according to the newspaper. They continued their relationship at a distance after Kasper Eriksen returned to Denmark in 2010. He came back to Mississippi as a legal immigrant in 2013 and the couple married a year later, according to the outlet. During that time, Kasper Eriksen obtained work as a welder, paid taxes and had four children with his wife. The two are now expecting a fifth child. On April 15, Kasper Eriksen was taken into ICE custody at his final citizenship interview in Memphis, Tennessee. ICE records reviewed by HuffPost showed that Kasper Eriksen is being held in LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana, the same privately owned detention center where Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil is in custody. Speaking from the GEO Group-owned detention center, Kasper Eriksen told the Mississippi Free Press on Tuesday that the law enforcement officer waiting for him in Memphis had 'a real sense of remorse because they realized it was an unfortunate circumstance.' According to the Free Press, Eriksen believes he was ordered removed for failing to submit form I-751, which conditional U.S. residents who marry American citizens must turn in to apply for permanent residency. He also recalled that his immigration case manager attributed what happened to the strict immigration policies that have become a hallmark of President Donald Trump's administration. 'He told us that, had it been a couple of months earlier, during the previous administration, the situation would have probably been different,' he said. Savannah Eriksen wrote on GoFundMe that she and her husband were never notified about the paperwork error at any previous interviews or appointments during her husband's citizenship process. Since his detention, Kasper Eriksen has lost about 25 pounds, the Free Press reports. He has met immigrants from across the world who were detained for different reasons. 'It's all different stuff,' he told the news outlet. 'Some people have an expired visa, for some, it's a minor or larger crime. I would say that some of these people (are victims) of miscommunication.' According to Savannah Eriksen's GoFundMe, her husband has a bond hearing on May 27. The bulk of Kasper Eriksen's citizenship process was handled by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, with ICE only getting involved when it received an order for his removal, ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams told the Mississippi Free Press. She added, 'the president and the administration have been pretty clear about increased immigration enforcement.' USCIS spokesperson Matthew J. Tragesser would not comment on the specifics of the case to the outlet, but said, 'It is the responsibility of conditional residents of the United States to apply to have those conditions removed before their Green Card expires—allowing them to obtain their permanent residence and ultimately citizenship.' HuffPost has reached out to both ICE and USCIS. Harvard Researcher Detained By ICE To Be Transferred To Massachusetts Hasan Piker Detained By CBP While Re-Entering The Country From France Judge Orders Release Of Georgetown Scholar Detained By Trump Administration
Newsweek
21-05-2025
- Newsweek
Green Card Holder Detained by ICE at Immigration Appointment, Wife Says
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Mississippi man and green card holder who has been in the United States for over a decade was detained at what was supposed to be a routine immigration appointment, throwing his family's life into turmoil, according to an account from his wife. Kasper Eriksen, a Danish national, traveled to Memphis for what he thought be the final interview in his application for U.S. citizenship on April 15, 2025. The 31-year-old welder, who has lived legally in the United States since 2013, was taken into custody due to what the family described as a paperwork discrepancy dating back to 2015. He has since been held at the LaSalle Detention Center, an ICE facility in Jena, Louisiana. Eriksen's wife, Savannah Hobart Eriksen, says the situation came about without warning. "At 8 a.m. on April 15, 2025, we arrived in Memphis for his final interview together. There, we were met by ICE agents. Kasper was detained for a paperwork miscommunication from 2015, and I was sent home with no explanation and no idea where my husband had been transported," she said. "I was 22 weeks pregnant at the time, and as I drove the 3-hour journey back to Sturgis, Mississippi, to say I couldn't control my emotions would be an understatement." Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment. Kasper Eriksen alongside his wife Savannah Hobart Eriksen, and their children. Kasper Eriksen alongside his wife Savannah Hobart Eriksen, and their children. Supplied Kasper was in the final stages of the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen. As of September 12, 2024, he received an update indicating that his application (Form N-400) was actively under review, with no outstanding requirements or issues on record. Several months later, on March 7, 2025, his case progressed further when an interview for his naturalization application was scheduled, marking a significant step toward completing his path to citizenship. Despite his compliance and long-standing legal residency, Kasper has now been detained for over a month, with no court date scheduled to review his case. "Kasper has a long history of lawful personal and immigration behavior. Unlawful behavior is not part of his character. Detaining Kasper seems vengeful and is not morally right or rational," Savannah said. She says that Kasper first came to the U.S. in 2009 as a high school exchange student. He returned legally in 2013 after marrying Savannah, an American citizen, and began the legal immigration process. Since then, the couple has built a life in Sturgis where they are raising four children, with a fifth due in August. Kasper is the family's sole provider and works as a foreman at The Welding Works and is in the process of completing construction on the family's home. Savannah, who homeschools their children, described the effect of her husband's detention as devastating. "This situation has not only detained Kasper but also has placed an emotional, mental burden upon our children and me. The financial strain of paying our regular bills and attorney/court fees, however, we are thankful we have friends, family, and our community for their love and support." She also emphasized the toll Kasper's detention has taken on their family and community, noting that his absence leaves their household without its sole source of income and stability. She said Kasper's detention is hurting their family, since he's the sole provider for their children Savannah said her husband is known in the community as a hardworking and compassionate person. "He is considered an outstanding employee with an impeccable work ethic by his employer and the employees whom he supervises. He has paid his taxes since being employed in the U.S., holds a valid driver's license and SSN, and contributes as a valuable member of his community." As of May 15, Kasper's attorneys had met with him to review parole and bond petitions, but no date has been set for his case to be reviewed. Immigration courts are overwhelmed, with a backlog exceeding 3.7 million cases, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Asylum-seekers often wait years for a decision. According to a recent AP/NORC poll, there's broad support across both parties for adding judges and staff to ease the burden as President Donald Trump's administration is carrying out what they describe as the "largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history." For now, the Eriksen family continues to wait, separated and uncertain of what comes next. "This situation has not only detained Kasper but also has placed an emotional, mental burden upon our children and me," Savannah said. "Without [our community], my children or I wouldn't have any hope of normalcy and wouldn't be able to secure the attorneys who are working to get Kasper home to us." "While Kasper embodies all the positive qualities of a hardworking man in pursuit of the American Dream, he never forgets his family and friends. He spends time with us and takes the time to give each of his children the attention and fatherly love they deserve," she said.
