The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Highly unusual to detain U.S. citizens
An Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson has responded to Crested Butte News requests for explanations on why officers picked up and detained a U.S. citizen in Gunnison last January. As reported in the March 6 edition of the News, 21-year-old Bernardo Medina was picked up in Gunnison and taken to Alamosa, Colorado Springs and Aurora, starting on January 27. While Medina had produced a Colorado ID, officers apparently believed he was an illegal immigrant.
Carl Rusnok, director of communications for the Central Region of ICE, explained in an email to the News, “Bernardo Medina had falsely stated to three different law enforcement officers at three different times over the course of four months that he was born in and a citizen of Mexico. After ICE was provided a copy of his U.S birth certificate, he was immediately released from ICE custody.”
Rusnok said it is very rare for ICE to detain or remove U.S. citizens. “ICE takes very seriously claims of U.S. citizens being improperly detained for immigration enforcement purposes,” he wrote. “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has implemented stringent safeguards to protect against the possibility that a U.S. citizen is detained or removed. ICE processes an individual for removal only when all available information indicates that the individual is a foreign national.”
The communications director provided some historical context about such situations. “In 2013, ICE and the Department of Justice announced a new nationwide policy to help ensure that unrepresented detainees with mental conditions or disorders that render them incompetent to represent themselves will be appointed a qualified representative to represent them in removal proceedings,” he said. “When fully implemented, this policy will provide a critical safeguard.”
According to Rusnok, in 2011, ICE revised its detainer form to include the number for a 24-hour, multi-lingual, toll-free hotline, which detained individuals can call if they believe an immigration detainer may have been inappropriately lodged against them, including in the cases of individuals who claim they are U.S. citizens. In addition to the hotline, ICE also maintains a community and detainee helpline to address problems and concerns of the public. The helpline is also toll-free and is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
Regarding Mr. Medina’s incident, Rusnok responded to specific questions:
How was Medina targeted as an illegal?
Bernardo Medina was contacted by ICE agents after falsely stating to two local law enforcement officers—the arresting officer and booking jail deputy—that he was born in and a citizen of Mexico. He also claimed he was born in Nayarit, Mexico, when he was interviewed by the arresting ICE agent. He claimed that he entered the U.S. illegally, on foot, near Douglas, Arizona, in March 2013. Both of his parents live in and are citizens of Mexico. It is a felony to knowingly provide false information to a law enforcement officer.
Why wasn’t the Colorado ID believed to be real?
A state-issued ID in Colorado is not proof of U.S. citizenship. Also, since Mr. Medina had already claimed to be a Mexican citizen to three different law enforcement officers, there was no need to further scrutinize his identification about his citizenship.
Why was he transported to three different places?
It is standard practice to move aliens to the Denver-area detention facility that are apprehended elsewhere in the Colorado and Wyoming ICE area of responsibility. Based on the significant distances that may be involved, sometimes more than one transfer is required to accommodate logistic requirements.
Why was he released in Denver without an opportunity to be transported back to Gunnison?
ICE cannot transport those who are determined to be U.S. citizens.
The statistics I see show that it doesn’t happen often for ICE officers to pick up citizens (maybe 1% to 1.5%), but how common is that in Colorado?
This is extremely rare. In this case, Mr. Medina had falsely stated to three different law enforcement officers that he was a Mexican citizen.
Is it common practice for ICE agents to find targets in the courthouse of various counties? It sounds like common practice in Gunnison.
ICE operations target specific individuals based on our stated enforcement priorities. We exercise all available resources to locate these specific individuals, including courthouses on a case-by-case basis.
Was Mr. Medina given opportunity to show further proof? It doesn’t sound like it from what I have been told, but what is proper procedure?
When Mr. Medina arrived in Denver, a relative faxed a copy of a birth certificate and claimed that the subject was born in Colorado.
After receiving a copy of his birth certificate he was immediately released from ICE custody. However, as stated previously, Mr. Medina had falsely stated to three different law enforcement officers that he was a Mexican citizen.
How many people are picked up annually in Gunnison?
ICE does not track arrest stats at individual cities and towns.
Rusnok added that “some U.S. citizens arrested by local law enforcement on criminal charges have been known to claim to be foreign born hoping that they can avoid jail time by being released to ICE.”
Marketa Zubkova, a Gunnison organizer for the non-profit Hispanic Affairs Project, said she asked Medina about the accusation that he told law enforcement officials he was born in Mexico. She said he denied that was the case.
“I spoke with Bernardo and he said that it is not true,” she wrote in an email. “He never told anyone he was a Mexican citizen. He does not have a dual citizenship. He told all the law enforcement officers with whom he had contact that he was born in Montrose, Colorado but grew up in Mexico.”
There are no current actions under way for ICE to charge Medina, but Rusnok said, “Charges are still a possibility.”
