Lawful asylum seeker in Calais detained for two months by ICE

A Venezuelan asylum seeker who was lawfully working on a drywall job in Robbinston ended up being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents and spending over two months in immigration detention after a "concerned citizen" of Calais twice called the Border Patrol about a van with "illegal aliens" being seen at the Irving gas station on North Street and then at the Calais Motor Inn. A federal judge was sharply critical of the actions by both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in arresting Flores Salazar in early March and then jailing him at correctional facilities in Vermont and Massachusetts. The actions by the agencies have become a pattern during the recent crackdown by the federal government on immigration, with similar cases being challenged in the courts over due process rights being violated.

In his June 11 ruling on Salazar's petition for release from detention, Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts wrote, "Put simply, the evidence overwhelmingly establishes, including through concessions by CBP and ICE, that Flores Salazar was detained without any lawful basis." He noted that "it is undisputed that Flores Salazar had permission to be in the United States on March 5, that he had committed no crime and the CBP knew these things when it detained him." Judge Sorokin notes that the government concedes that his detention was the result of "error" and "oversight."

Of the detention of Salazar, Judge Sorokin stated, "These limitations on his liberty occurred despite decisions by immigration officials just last summer granting him temporary parole status in the United States for humanitarian reasons, along with work authorization; despite Flores Salazar's compliance with the terms of his parole; despite his lack of any criminal record; despite his production of a valid, unexpired, government-issued work-authorization card to Border Patrol agents who encountered him in Maine; and, as it turns out, despite the absence of any lawful reason to detain him."

An asylum seeker's journey

In 2018 Salazar had fled from Venezuela to Peru because of his fear of political persecution, according to the judge's order. Later, he traveled to Mexico and requested an appointment with CBP in hopes of seeking asylum in the United States. After waiting nearly nine months in Mexico, he was assigned an appointment date and on that date presented himself at a port of entry along the Texas border, following the directions provided by CBP. On July 18, 2024, he was granted humanitarian parole into the U.S. for two years by CBP at the Mexico/United States border, with the requirement that he apply for asylum within a year. His application for temporary employment authorization was granted, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued him a work-authorization card. In October 2024 he appeared in immigration court as required and then moved to Florida, with his relocation approved and immigration proceedings transferred there. He then found work with a construction company that sent him as part of a crew to different states.

In early March of this year Salazar and six other crew members traveled to Calais for a construction job in Robbinston, and they stayed at the Calais Motor Inn. On the morning of March 5 when they headed out in their work van at approximately 7 a.m., Border Patrol agents approached them and told the men to produce identification. Six of the crew were told they would have to go to the Border Patrol station in Calais with the officers. According to a court document submitted by Salazar's attorneys, Lindsay Custer and Claire Maguire of the Northeast Justice Center in Lawrence, Mass., the agents took photos of the crew with their phones and "had the crew pose in different groups while the agents laughed. The agents later posted some of the pictures on Facebook."

One of the employees at the Calais Motor Inn told Ivan Rivera, a U.S. citizen who was one of the crew, that CBP agents frequent the motel's restaurant and bar, which Rivera assumed was how the agents knew the men were staying there. In a statement, CBP says the agents were told about the crew being in Calais by an unidentified caller.

After his arrest and that of the five other crew members, Salazar notified the Calais agents of his fear of persecution or torture if he was returned to Venezuela. CBP's narrative of the encounter, though, does not document his parole and instead states that he was "in the United States illegally" and did "not possess immigration documents that would allow him to enter, remain in or pass through the United States," according to the judge's order. The acting patrol agent in charge at the Calais station authorized an arrest warrant, accusing Salazar of being in the country in violation of immigration laws. He was taken to a correctional facility in Vermont and then transferred to one in Massachusetts, where he remained for more than seven weeks.

With assistance of attorneys, on April 29 Salazar filed a petition with the court alleging that his detention violated the federal statute governing his parole and the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court set a May 6 deadline for a response from the government, and at the end of that day attorneys for the government requested an extension of time, saying their unit "was overwhelmed." The court then set a new response deadline of May 9. On May 8, the assistant field office director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) reviewed Salazar's custody status -- "the first such review conducted by any representative of CBP or ICE since March 5," the judge notes. The government then requested a second extension of the response deadline, and an extra week was granted.

After spending 65 days in immigration detention, on May 10 Salazar was released from the correctional facility after ERO confirmed that he was in parole status at the time of his arrest. But he was not unconditionally released. Rather, he was fitted with an ankle bracelet and subject to GPS monitoring supervised by ICE.

On May 16, the government filed a motion for the court to dismiss Salazar's petition, stating he was no longer in ICE custody and that the ankle bracelet did not amount to custody, although the government has acknowledged that GPS monitoring can in some circumstances amount to custody. Instead, the government asserted that Salazar "is free to travel, determine where he wants to reside, associate with whomever and pursue what employment he can engage in." The judge, though, responded: "This characterization is unsupported by any evidence, and it is wrong." He points out that Salazar is not allowed to remove the GPS monitor, must adhere to a weekly schedule approved by ICE and limit his movements to a designated geographic area within Texas. He must disclose any work information to ICE and may be asked to verify his location at any time. He cannot change his address without approval from ICE, and every four weeks he must visit an ICE office more than 170 miles from his home, and during the visits his possessions and vehicles are subject to search. In his decision, the judge ordered the release of Salazar from the ankle bracelet and the intensive supervision.

As of May 29, at least four of the crew members who were arrested in Calais are still unaccounted for and may still be in custody or were removed from the country.

Salazar's unlawful detention is not the only one that has occurred recently in Maine. According to the documents filed by the Northeast Justice Center attorneys, on April 10 at least two people with valid employment authorization documents were arrested by immigration authorities for no discernible reason, and in March at least one person with valid authorization to be present in the U.S. was detained.