Man swept up by ICE agents at Massachusetts gas station, his girlfriend says
Federal immigration officers detained a man at a Massachusetts gas station this week
By Sera Congi
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FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Federal immigration officers detained a man at a Massachusetts gas station this week, even though his girlfriend believes they were looking for someone else.
Daniel Orellana, of Framingham, was on his way to work Monday morning when he was stopped at a gas station at approximately 6 a.m.
His girlfriend, Zulema Alfaro, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had a photo of someone else, but took the 25-year-old into custody.
Orellana’s family did not hear from him until 10 p.m., when he was allowed to make a brief phone call from the Plymouth corrections center.
“They took him, confused him with someone else, they even took a picture and said, ‘Is this you?’ He told me it looked nothing like him, yet they still questioned him,” said Alfaro.
She said Orellana told the ICE agents that he didn’t know the person they were looking for.
“They said, ‘We’re going to take you in anyway,'” Alfaro said.
Orellana fled Guatemala three years ago due to threats and violence, following members of his family who came to the U.S. through the asylum process. Alfaro said Orellana was about to start the asylum process while also working, taking English classes, and supporting his family.
“He was just living. Trying to live his best life here. Trying to better himself, better his family,” Alfaro said.
The detainment comes amid increasing ICE activity in Massachusetts. Last month, in Winthrop, a similar scenario unfolded. Witnesses said agents with a photo took people away even though they did not match the person they were seeking.
‘Know your rights’: Federal agents pull over work van, arrest two people in Winthrop, Massachusetts Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff to President Donald Trump, has said he does not believe immigrants present in the country without legal status have a right to due process.
“The correct process for illegal aliens: Are you here illegally? Deport,” Miller wrote on social media.
Last month, however, the Supreme Court of the United States ordered that detainees are entitled to “notice and opportunity to be heard.”
“If ICE is operating here to apprehend, detain and report people who have committed crimes, I’m all for that,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said. “I also think it’s important where due process is followed.”
Orellana told his girlfriend that he spent about five hours in the van while agents picked up seven more people in the area. He continues to be held in Plymouth and now has legal representation.
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