FLORIDA, USA — An American citizen narrowly avoided deportation to Jamaica after being wrongfully detained and prepared for removal by U.S. immigration authorities, despite repeatedly asserting his citizenship.
Peter Brown, a Florida resident, was taken into custody by Monroe County officials in 2018 at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which incorrectly identified him as a Jamaican national subject to deportation. Brown, who had only once visited Jamaica on a cruise, pleaded with authorities about his U.S. citizenship, but his concerns were disregarded.
- Advertisement -
His situation gained national attention after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in collaboration with other Florida-based advocacy groups, filed a federal lawsuit against Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay. The suit accused Ramsay of unlawfully cooperating with ICE and violating Brown’s constitutional rights.
The critical breakthrough in Brown’s case came when a friend provided ICE with a copy of his birth certificate, confirming his U.S. citizenship and ultimately halting the deportation process.
On May 30, a federal court granted a partial summary judgment in Brown’s favor, ruling that his detention violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The court held that ICE had lacked probable cause to issue the detainer and that the sheriff’s office had ignored clear evidence of Brown’s citizenship.
“We have seen the ICE detainer system fail time and again, but the county still chose to put Mr. Brown through this nightmare,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy project director for the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “At a moment in which we are seeing a raft of unlawful immigration arrests of citizens by federal and local authorities, this decision is a key reminder that the Fourth Amendment safeguards us all.”
Brown reportedly endured emotional distress during his detention, with the experience described by the ACLU as deeply traumatic. His legal victory underscores the dangers of local law enforcement agencies participating in immigration enforcement without proper verification.
“This case highlights the significant threat posed to U.S. citizens by frequent ICE errors,” said Amien Kacou, staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “When state and local police act as ICE enforcers, they do so at their own peril. They cannot deflect responsibility onto ICE and ignore their independent duty to confirm probable cause before detaining someone.”
The ruling came just a day after Jamaica received a flight of 107 deported nationals from the United States and just a week before violent protests erupted in Los Angeles in response to ICE operations targeting undocumented immigrants. The unrest led President Donald Trump to activate the California National Guard in an effort to restore order.
Brown’s case, though rooted in ICE policy from Trump’s first term, adds fuel to ongoing national debates over immigration enforcement during his second term. The incident has also intensified scrutiny over local-federal partnerships in immigration matters.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, confirmed that U.S. authorities currently have approximately 4,000 Jamaicans with final deportation orders. Of that number, about 2,500 are slated for eventual removal, pending legal and logistical arrangements.
