A green card holder living in the US for almost two decades was detained by American immigration authorities and “violently interrogated” after returning from Luxembourg, his mother has said.
Fabian Schmidt, a German citizen and green card holder living in New Hampshire, was detained at Logan International Airport in Boston over a week ago on his return from Luxembourg, Newsweek reported on Saturday.
The 34-year-old electrical engineer has been living in the USA since 2007 and has held a permanent residence permit since 2008.
On his return to the USA, Schmidt was told by officials from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that his green card had been “flagged”.
He was reportedly questioned intensively for several hours without being told why. His mother told Newsweek that her son was “violently interrogated” by two officers, stripped naked, placed under a cold shower and pressured to surrender his green card.
Schmidt was deprived of sleep, food and water – as well as his prescribed medication for anxiety and depression, according to the news report. He eventually collapsed and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with the flu.
The US CBP denied the allegations, with assistant commissioner of public affairs Hilton Beckham telling Newsweek: “These claims are blatantly false with respect to CBP.”
Schmidt was later transferred to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) regional headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, and then to the Donald W. Wyatt prison in Rhode Island, where he remains at the time of writing.
His family, including his partner and their eight-year-old daughter, both US citizens, have reportedly not received an explanation. They state that Schmidt’s green card was recently renewed and that he has no outstanding legal issues. His partner is working with a lawyer and the German consulate to secure his release on bail.
Schmidt has a minor criminal record, with one charge of marijuana possession of less than 30 grams, dropped in 2015, and one charge of drink-driving dating back more than ten years ago, which has since been settled.
According to legal experts, green card holders can be deported for certain offences, even if they are minor or time-barred. However, Schmidt’s case appears to be extreme and raises questions about the treatment of legal residents in the US.
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translation, adaptation and additional reporting by Alex Stevensson)