Congressman Veasey Joins Other Lawmakers In Sending Letter To U.S. Customs And Border Patrol Acting Commissioner Morgan On Wrongful Detention And Treatment Of U.S. Citizens

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) joined other lawmakers in sending a letter to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan on the wrongful detention and treatment of U.S. citizens. This letter comes following the recent unlawful detention of U.S. citizen Francisco Erwin Galicia-Chapa who was detained at a Border Patrol checkpoint while on his way to a college soccer tryout even after presenting a valid Texas driver's license.

The Members of Congress in their joint letter asked Brian Hastings, Chief of Law Enforcement at the U.S. Border Patrol to clarify his statement when he testified before the House Judiciary that Mr. Galicia-Chapa "[a]t no time in Border Patrol custody sa[id] that he was a U.S. citizen."

"Detaining lawful U.S. citizens at border checkpoints is not immigration enforcement," said Congressman Gonzalez. "Francisco Erwin Galicia-Chapa and his family must now bear the mental and physical scars of something that never should have happened. We send this letter on their behalf expecting forthright and honest answers so that we may prevent this from happening again."

"The reports around Francisco Erwin Galicia-Chapa's detention were deeply troubling and we must ensure that something like this never happens again," said Congressman Allred. "I thank Congressman Gonzalez for leading on this letter to get answers. The rights of U.S. citizens are sacred and no one should fear their own government. Our immigration system is broken, and this is further proof we must work together on comprehensive immigration reform to fix it."

"Despite presenting proof of citizenship, CBP is continuing to detain U.S. citizens like Francisco. We must investigate this clear abuse of power. When a person in DHS custody - a child no less - claims to be an American citizen, the agency must take every step necessary to verify their status and restore their freedom immediately," said Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Castro. "It is critical that CBP answer our questions and conduct a thorough review of the agency policies that allow U.S. citizens to be detained for weeks without any recourse."

Following the release of Mr. Galicia-Chapa, CBP unlawfully detained a 9 year old girl for 32 hours despite her being a U.S. citizen.

The following Members of Congress are co-signers of the letter: Reps. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Filemon Vela (TX-34), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Darren Soto (FL-09), Sylvia R. Garcia (TX-29), Norma J. Torres (CA-35), David Cicilline (RI-01), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Val Butler Demings (FL-10), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Ben Ray Luján (NM-03), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Gilbert Ray Cisneros (CA-39), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), Nydia M. Velazquez (NY-07).

Full text of the letter here.