…While another sues US government for immigration mix-up

Rennison Castillo

Also in court, but in the US, a Belizean American man is boldly going where few migrants have dared to go before. He is suing the United States government.  Rennison Castillo who is a U.S. citizen and an army veteran is challenging the government because he was locked up for seven months at an immigration center.  Castillo was born in Belize and immigrated to the U.S. when he was seven. In 1998 he became a naturalized citizen while serving in the army. In 2005, he was held by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities as they questioned prisoners at a Pierce County jail, where he served most of an eight-month sentence for violating a protection order.  Though few persons have sued for improper detention, the case is going full steam ahead despite tactics by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and agents efforts to have the motion dismissed. Ben Settle, a U.S. Judge, rejected a January eleventh motion filed by the government.  Castillo claims officials failed to act on his requests to check his military record and Social Security number in 2005.  Because of the inaction the army veteran was held for an additional seven and a half months by ICE. Matt Adams, an attorney at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the legal aid firm that helped Castillo gain his freedom said QUOTE “We want to make sure to hold the government accountable.” END QUOTE. Castillo is seeking unspecified monetary damages and an apology.  In the countering suit, government lawyers argued there is no constitutional right to a perfect search of immigration files.  The case is expected to be heard shortly by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle.