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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

U.S. Keeps Trying to Deport a Citizen

LAS VEGAS (CN) - Uncle Sam tried to deport a naturalized U.S. citizen three times, held him in jail for 3 years, and tried a fourth time to deport him, until a federal court stopped it on the eve of trial, he claims in court.

Wilsonis Ayala-Villanueva sued the United States of America in Federal Court.

Ayala was born in El Salvador in 1973 and became a U.S. citizen in 1987, when his mother was naturalized, he says in the complaint.

"Wilsonis Ayala is a citizen of the United States. Notwithstanding that objectively verifiable fact, officers of the United States Department of Homeland Security directed the detention of plaintiff in immigration custody based on their purported, but groundless, belief that plaintiff was an alien subject to removal," the complaint states.

"As the result of the officers' actions and inactions, plaintiff's freedom was restricted for an aggregate 1,053 days."

Ayala, 39, is "currently incarcerated in Texas," the complaint states. It does not state why.

He claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him the first time on March 6, 2003, and released him on April 7 that year. He was rearrested on June 1, 2003 and jailed until Dec. 5, 2003. He was arrested again on April 15, 2005 and jailed until Aug. 19, 2007, according to the complaint.

"On three separate occasions, December 5, 2003, October 18, 2005 and April 16, 2006 the immigration Judge order proceedings terminated finding the plaintiff to be a United States citizen," the complaint states. "On each occasion ICE appealed to the BIA [Board of Immigration Appeals] and the BIA reversed and remanded."

The fourth time, on Dev. 27, 2006, an immigration judge ordered Ayala's "removal." He appealed to the 9th Circuit. "On the eve of trial before the District Court, ICE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) conceded that the plaintiff is a United States citizen and filed a joint motion to terminate proceedings, which the BIA ordered October 19, 2011," according to the complaint.

A naturalized citizen can be deported, legally, but first his citizenship must be revoked. Ayala's 5-page complaint does not state that Uncle Sam ever tried to do that.

He seeks damages for constitutional violations, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

He is represented by Brett Whipple.

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