The ACLU of Georgia and North Carolina have teamed up to file a lawsuit on behalf of Mark Lyttle, a United States citizen who was wrongly deported from the United States. Mr. Lyttle was born and raised in Rowan County, North Carolina, and suffers from mental disabilities.
Despite the fact that there was ample evidence of Mr. Lyttle’s United States citizenship, he was taken into custody, and held for six weeks before being deported to Mexico by U.S. immigration officials. It has been alleged that Mr. Lyttle was not provided with legal representation either during his interrogation, or during his deportation hearing despite the fact the Government was aware of the fact that he is most likely mentally incompetent.
Over a four month period after his deportation, Mr. Lyttle survived by living on the streets, shelters and prisons of Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. He suffered imprisonment and abuse by prison guards.
He eventually made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. Embassy officials contacted his brother on a military base where he is serving. Mr. Lyttle was issued a United States passport, and money was wired to him to enable him to fly back to the United States.
After arriving in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Lyttle was again taken into custody and held for hours by immigration officials as a result of his adverse immigration history. You would think that a United States passport would be sufficient.
The ACLU complaint was filed on October 13, 2010, and alleges violations of the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, false imprisonment, negligence, and intentional infliction of emtional distress.
The following are listed as Defendants:
- The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA;
- ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., U.S. Attorney General;
- JANET NAPOLITANO, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security;
- THOMAS G. SNOW, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review;
- JOHN T. MORTON, Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- JAMES T. HAYES, Director, Office of Detention and Removal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- RAYMOND SIMONSE, Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- DAVID COLLADO, Enforcement Officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- MARCO MONDRAGON, Enforcement Officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- TRACY MOTEN, Enforcement Officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- MICHAEL MOORE, Enforcement Officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- CHARLES JOHNSTON, Enforcement Officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- BRIAN KEYS, Enforcement Officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
- ICE DOES 1-10, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officials and Agents;
- U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE DOES 1-10;
- CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA; and
- GEORGIA DOES 1-10,
Click here to read the ACLU press release.
Click here to read the suit, Lyttle v. The United States of America, et al., filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.