Claudio Cortez-Herrera, a green card holder from Mexico who has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades and has two U.S. citizen children, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials for over two months.
Newsweek reached out to ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
Cortez-Herrera’s detention comes amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
In addition to people residing in the country illegally, immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has reported dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids and various arrests.
The Office of Homeland Security Statistics estimated there were 12.8 million lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, living in the U.S. on January 1, 2024.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon/GoFundMe
What To Know
Cortez-Herrera, 34, has been in the U.S. for over two decades, his fiancee Leticia Ortiz Lopez wrote in an online fundraiser seeking financial assistance for legal fees and child support. He is the father of their two U.S. citizen children, a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son with autism.
She told local outlet 13 On Your Side that he was on his way to work and “putting in the house payment across the street at the drop box post office, when he got surrounded by 10 ICE agents, and he was taken.”
ICE confirmed in a Facebook post that Cortez-Herrera was arrested by Detroit-based immigration officials on April 23. Newsweek confirmed in the ICE detainee database that he is still in custody, held at the Calhoun County Correctional Center in Battle Creek, Michigan.
In the Facebook post, ICE noted Cortez-Herrera’s previous criminal record, writing, “Convicted in New Castle, Del [Delaware],” noting that his conviction was for “Planning first-degree arson & first-degree reckless endangering.”
Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the conviction.
His wife said in the GoFundMe: “Over 20 years ago, as a teen, he made a mistake. He took responsibility and left that life behind.”
She told the local outlet he served seven months on a racketeering charge, saying: “He was young, he was stupid, you know, and he’s not that person anymore, you know, he’s not in that state, he’s not around those people.”
What People Are Saying
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday: “Coming to America and receiving a visa or green card is a privilege. Our laws and values must be respected. If you advocate for violence, endorse or support terrorist activity, or encourage others to do so, you are no longer eligible to stay in the U.S.”
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Newsweek on June 25, regarding a different case: “Possessing a green card is a privilege, not a right; and under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused. In addition to immigration removal proceedings, lawful permanent residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention.”
What Happens Next
It is unclear when Cortez-Herrera’s immigration hearing will take place, though it is expected soon.