IOWA CITY, Iowa — For nearly a year, immigration authorities have detained and sought to deport a mentally ill man whose mother, lawyers and public records say was born in the United States and not Jamaica, as he claims, a review by The Associated Press has found.

Source: Associated Press, via Ottumwa Courier

The man has been in immigration custody since January — nearly 10 months — while authorities have pursued his removal, according to the AP review of the case, published on October 27.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no authority to detain U.S. citizens. The agency has long done so anyway, usually for hours or days, when officers mistake identities or cannot immediately verify citizenship, AP reported.

Source: Associated Press, via Plain Dealer (Indiana)

Immigration lawyers told AP that a nearly 10-month improper detention would be rare, but not unprecedented. The case turns on records: the man's mother, his lawyers and public records support a U.S. birth, while the man himself says he was born in Jamaica — a conflict that, on the AP's account, documents resolve in favour of the U.S.-birth claim.

For immigrant families — including Punjabi diaspora families across the United States — the case is a reminder of why citizenship papers, birth records and legal help matter from the first day of any ICE encounter: a person who can prove U.S. citizenship cannot lawfully be held for deportation at all.

Awaaz Punjab is reporting only what the AP review itself established. ICE's own account of why the detention has continued, and the man's name and current legal status, were not included in the portion of the AP report available at publication time; this story will be updated if the agency responds.