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Lawsuit: ICE detained US citizen for a week in Tacoma

A naturalized US citizen from Mexico alleges ICE held him in detention for a week in 2019 even though he had his passport with him proving his citizenship.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2019, file photo, barbed wire fencing is shown behind a sign in English and Spanish in a recreation yard used by detainees during a media tour of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, in Tacoma, Wash. A federal judge has declined on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, to order speedier bail hearings for detainees at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lockup in Tacoma, who are especially at risk from COVID-19, despite a few recent cases there. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

SEATTLE — A naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying the agency held him in detention for a week even though he had his passport with him proving his citizenship.

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court on behalf of Everett resident Carlos Rios.

The lawsuit says Rios was pulled over in November 2019 on suspicion of driving under the influence, and when he was released from jail the next day ICE officers seized him, ignoring his requests that they examine his passport.

The agency did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.