Legal Permanent Resident Deported to Mexico (La Opinión c/o New American Media)

Legal Permanent Resident Deported to Mexico
La Opinión, Posted: Sep 24, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- A man who had lived in the United States for 30 years and had a green card was deported last week as a result of an incident in 2001 when he was stopped at the border with two people who did not have their papers in order, reports La Opinión. Rito Arellano, 55, was deported to Tijuana last week. His wife and three daughters say his detention and deportation are not justified.

Last Wednesday, about 10 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided Arellano's home in Pomona, Calif., supposedly looking for someone else. While looking over his green card, the agents saw that he had been detained seven years ago at the border. Arellano says the agents told him they had an order for his arrest, but did not show it to him, and then took him to a detention center in Los Angeles.

Arellano has been a legal permanent resident for more than 15 years. In 2001, he visited Tijuana with two undocumented friends. He was driving the car when they re-entered the United States. He was arrested and spent the weekend in jail on the charge of bringing undocumented immigrants into the country, but a judge released him for lack of evidence.