Buckeye parents claim ICE is trying to deport citizen son

Tim Vetscher

A Buckeye mother and father claim officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement are trying to deport their son who they say is a US citizen.

In 1985, Linda Zazueta and her husband Richard adopted an 11-week-old baby boy from Mexico.

They named him Brad and he spent the next 24 years going to school and living in the United States.

"He had a social security card, he has a drivers license from California and Arizona," said Linda Zazueta. "He attended and graduated high school (in the US)."

Brad, his family admits, got in trouble with the law later in life and when he did his immigration status came into question.

According to court documents, because of some mistakes on the paperwork at the time of his adoption, the Department of Homeland Security now wants Brad deported.

"There are discrepancies in the paperwork," Brad Zazueta said by telephone Tuesday from an ICE detention facility in Eloy, Arizona. "They say because of that I'm not a US citizen."

A new report by the Associated Press indicates 55 US citizens have been mistakenly deported since the year 2000.

The AP reports the cases often involve people like Brad, born abroad who gained citizenship later.

"I've been through the system and the system is scary," said Linda Zazueta. "ICE is not protecting the rights of US citizens."

Last month, a federal judge ruled in Brad's favor, declaring him a US citizen. The government, however, appealed the decision meaning Brad remains in federal custody in Eloy.

"I feel it's wrong," said Brad Zazueta. "They're violating my rights."

An ICE spokesperson wouldn't comment on Brad's case specifically but did say it's not the agency's desire to deport Americans.

Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.