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Family says man detained by ICE agents pretending to be insurance agents

Posted at 3:35 PM, Jun 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-29 20:20:53-04

A case of illegal immigration enforcement is raising some eyebrows here in Omaha. A family wants to know why U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is using what they call deceitful practices to arrest a man who has been living in Omaha for more than a decade.

His family and attorney said that the man and his wife started receiving text messages from what he believed were insurance agents saying the vehicle he just bought had been in a crash and they needed to look at it. He agreed to meet with them Tuesday at the Bucky's on 60th and Center streets to prove the vehicle didn't have any damage. 

The "agents" turned out to be ICE agents who the family said accused the man of having warrants for drugs and DUI.

Court records indicate he doesn't have warrants and has never been arrested for a felony, but ICE agents apparently detained him because he was undocumented.

"In this case, this client was accused of doing something he didn't do, he was lied to, and by being honest and trying to figure out who was contacting him, he was arrested," said his attorney, Tom Campbell.

They want to stay anonymous out of fear of repercussion.

"Nobody, nobody should be treated like that, citizen or just lying about stuff that he didn't do. Nobody should be treated like that," his sister-in-law said. "He has a 13-year-old; he has a 4-year-old. He's always asking for him — we don't know what to tell them. They're suffering."

Because Scripps isn't revealing the man's name right now, ICE says they are unable to respond to the allegations.