ICE releases US citizen, 18, wrongfully detained near border

HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S.-born 18-year-old has been released from immigration custody after wrongfully being detained for more than three weeks.

Francisco Erwin Galicia left a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Pearsall, Texas, on Tuesday. His lawyer, Claudia Galan, confirmed he had been released, less than a day after The Dallas Morning News reported about his detention.

Galicia lives in the border city of Edinburg, Texas, and was traveling north with a group of friends when they were stopped at a Border Patrol inland checkpoint. According to Galan and the Morning News, agents apprehended Galicia on suspicion that he was in the U.S. illegally even though he had a Texas state ID.

Galicia was detained for three weeks by the Border Patrol, then transferred to the ICE detention center.

Galan said she believes Galicia was "absolutely" a victim of racial profiling. The others in the vehicle with him were all Latinos, including his 17-year-old brother Marlon, who was born in Mexico and was in the U.S. illegally. Marlon told the Morning News that he agreed to be returned to Mexico.

"I'm so thankful Francisco is free and he can sleep at home tonight and see his mom," Galan said.

ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, jointly issued a statement Wednesday accusing Galicia of having provided "conflicting reports regarding status of citizenship" while detained, without providing specifics. Galan said Tuesday that Galicia's mother had incorrectly applied for a tourist visa for him that suggested he had been born in Mexico.

"Both CBP and ICE are committed to the fair treatment of migrants in our custody and continue to take appropriate steps to verify all facts of this situation," the statement said.

The Border Patrol apprehends people entering the U.S. illegally, both directly at the U.S.-Mexico border and with its series of highway checkpoints miles from the border. In most cases, agents glance at drivers passing through the checkpoints and let them pass quickly. A passport or proof of citizenship is not normally demanded to pass through an inland checkpoint.