‘US citizen arrested’ narrative hype conflicts with sworn affidavit in Hermosillo case

A recent case of a U.S. citizen being arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in Nogales, Arizona, and then held for 10 days before being released caused another outcry among leftists who claim it’s another example of racial profiling under the Trump administration.

However, the I-213 document from the Department of Homeland Security shows that Border Patrol had many reasons to believe 19-year Jose Hermosillo was not a citizen of the U.S. and had crossed the southern border illegally. Hermosillo did not have identification on him when he was arrested, and according to the document, he stated he was not a U.S. citizen and was in the country illegally.

‘Q. OF WHAT COUNTRY ARE YOU A CITIZEN? A. MEXICO’

AZPM reported that Hermosillo was visiting Tucson and “was lost and walking” near Nogales, which is an hour’s drive from Tucson, when he was arrested by Border Patrol on April 8. His girlfriend’s aunt Grace Layva said the family called numerous places looking for him, eventually discovering he had been placed in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Once his family provided a birth certificate and Social Security card, Hermosillo was released, and the case against him was dropped on Thursday.

“He did say he was a U.S. citizen, but they didn’t believe him,” Layva said. “I think they would have kept him. I think they would have if they would have not got that information yesterday in the court and gave that to ICE and the Border Patrol. He probably would have been deported already to Mexico.”

Despite Layva’s claims, Hermosillo apparently told agents a different story. According to the I-213 form obtained by Blaze News, Hermosillo stated numerous times he was citizen of Mexico and had crossed the southern border illegally:

Q. WHERE WERE YOUR BORN?
A. MEXICO
Q. OF WHAT COUNTRY ARE YOU A CITIZEN?
A. MEXICO
Q. OF WHAT COUNTRY ARE YOUR PARENTS CITIZENS?
A. MEXICO
Q. WHERE DO YOU PARENTS RESIDE?
A. MEXICO
…
Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY CLAIM TO BEING A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES?
A. NO
…
Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY A LEGAL AUTHORITY THAT PERMITS YOU TO BE IN THE UNITED STATES LEGALLY?
A. NO
Q. WERE YOU INSPECTED BY IMMIGRATION OFFICERS AT A PORT OF ENTRY?
A. NO
Q. HAVE YOU ENTERED THE UNITED STATES ILLEGALLY BEFORE?
A. NO
Q. WHERE DID YOU ENTER THE UNITED STATES THIS TIME?
A. DESERT
Q. DID YOU KNOW IT WAS ILLEGAL TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT BEING INSPECTED?
A. YES
Q. HOW DID YOU CROSS THE BORDER BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES THIS TIME?
A. IN THE DESERT
Q. ARE YOU IN THE UNITED STATES ILLEGALLY NOW?
A. YES

Hermosillo said he was in the U.S. to look for work and planned to stay in the country for 20 years. He claimed he had been arrested by Border Patrol the same day he crossed illegally.

The fact that Hermosillo appears to be a U.S. citizen raises questions as to why he did not give agents his correct citizenship information.

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