A man in the process of obtaining permanent residency in the United States was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while sightseeing at the Grand Canyon, his boyfriend told Newsweek.
Newsweek reached out to ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services via email, for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump campaigned on mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, and has ramped up immigration enforcement since his return to office in January.
The Trump administration said it deported around 100,000 illegal immigrants in the initial months of the presidency, and many individuals have been deported following Trump invoking the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, something which has been criticized and blocked by judges. Although he has said authorities would primarily target individuals with criminal records, there have been reports of non-criminals being detained by ICE agents. Reuters reported earlier in June that about 7,800 migrants with no criminal record were arrested by ICE in June.
What to Know
Ricardo Dominguez of Kissimmee, Florida, told Newsweek that his boyfriend Juan Vita Leite Pinto, a Brazilian national with a valid Florida ID and work permit, was taken into custody by ICE agents over Memorial Day weekend while visiting the Grand Canyon.
While Vita Leite Pinto lives in Orlando, he was out west for work as a harvester at the time. Only one week earlier, the couple visited the Hoover Dam with no issues, Dominguez said in a phone interview on Thursday. But when Vita Leite-Pinto visited the Grand Canyon, he was stopped by immigration agents. He presented his Florida ID card but was told that was not sufficient.
He has been held in ICE custody for the weeks since then.
Courtesey of Ricardo Dominguez
Vita Leite Pinto first traveled to the U.S. in 2012 and fell in love with the country, Dominguez said. He returned about four years ago on a visitor visa and began the process of applying for citizenship. They have since decided to get married and start the process for him to get a green card. His first interview was coming up before the detainment, according to Dominguez.
Dominguez has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for legal representation for him, he said. He has spoken with lawyers, but it is expensive to pay for that legal representation, as the U.S. government does not provide immigrants with free counsel.
“He doesn’t like being in there. He wants to work. He enjoys work. He enjoys his job, and being out, getting to know this country,” he said. “He just wanted to go back to his job and working on us getting married.”
Vita Leite Pinto does not have any criminal record, according to Dominguez.
Dominguez said he has been receiving limited information from the agency because the two are not yet married, though the two do speak daily. He is concerned his citizenship process could be made more difficult if he is deported. If that happens, Dominguez said he plans to travel to Brazil with him to continue the process—but that’s a “last resort.”
ICE records show that Vita Leite-Pinto is “in ICE custody” in Arizona’s Eloy Detention Center. The agency has not said why he was detained.
His cousin was also detained, but the family is still working on finding out exactly where he is, Dominguez said. He said there are a “lot of unknowns” in terms of what identification is needed to show his status as having a work permit.
There have been similar incidents across the country where immigrants at various stages of legal residency have been detained.
For instance, Kasper Eriksen, a Danish national living in Mississippi and a father of four children, was detained at his citizenship interview in April due to a paperwork discrepancy from years ago. He had liven in the U.S. legally since 2013 Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek he had a “final order of removal from an immigration judge.”
A 66-year-old man named Victor Avila, who has held a green card for 58 years, was detained by ICE agents after visiting his son who is a member of the U.S. Air Force, according to a GoFundMe.
A man named Sayed Naser, who said he worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, was taken into custody during an asylum hearing in California last week.
What Happens Next
Vita Leite Pinto remains in custody and is awaiting further hearings. His next court date is set for June 27, Dominguez said. ICE has not commented on the case.
