British man taken from family by ICE and held for seven weeks in detention centre
The United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has snatched a British man away from his wife and kids in Florida after digging up some old dirt on him.
29-year-old Connor Read emigrated to the US with his parents two decades ago, returning to his birthplace just once, and now owns the pressure-washing firm Refresh Florida.
"I don't know England, I know Florida," he said, per The Times.
Despite settling across the pond during his youth, Connor's immigration status was compromised when his family got 'scammed' by a fraudulent attorney after they submitted their green card applications.
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Aged 16, he was given Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, which he had to renew every two years until he turned 22. Due to awkward technicalities, he was never issued a green card.
Connor's life in the US wobbled when he committed minor offences (resisting an officer and being found in possession of alcohol underage) though, eventually leading to Donald Trump's administration deeming him a 'criminal illegal alien'.
And that's what brought the father-of-two to his current predicament: held inside a Louisiana-based ICE detention facility for close to two months now, surrounded by drug traffickers and domestic abusers.
"I feel like I'm an innocent person who is serving time right now," Connor revealed, "it drives me crazy."
As for how ICE agents originally got to him, he was invited to a green card interview in early June, in Tampa.
Connor was subsequently separated from wife Jaelin and their twin sons Ryder and Ozzie (who are just three years old) with the understanding that he needed to be interviewed alone.
Four ICE officials awaited him, bundling Connor out of the building in handcuffs before telling Jaelin that he wouldn't be coming home.
His wife recalled: "Ozzie just planted his butt and was like: 'No, I'm waiting for daddy,' and sat back down in the waiting room after they separated us. Ryder took off towards the metal detectors. It was a mess. There were 150 people in this waiting room. It was a genuine nightmare.
"I'm carrying a wad of paperwork we had prepared for the last two and a half weeks before this appointment. They didn't even have a look at any of it. It felt like such a ruse."
Following his arrest, Connor was taken to Pinellas County Jail, spending eight days there in 'horrible' and 'dirty' conditions.
Hands bound and ankles tied together - 'You’d think they were transporting a bunch of murderers' - he later flew to the Central Louisiana Processing Center, where he has remained since.
As Jaelin and the young family now face financial problems (they are currently living off GoFundMe donations), her husband's detainment could last another six months at least, despite an appeal.
The pair are considering moving their family to the UK once it's all over.
"If that's what we need to do, then that's what we'll do," claimed Connor. "We just think I have a strong case."
Dan Seddon