CBS reported that Kenny Laynez, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen and 12th-grader in high school, was detained by immigration agents on his way to work in early May and told, “You have no rights here.” Laynez said being told “no rights” simply because he looks Hispanic “is heartbreaking.”
Newsweek reported that Texas-born U.S. citizen Miguel Angel Ponce Jr. was mistaken for a wanted criminal with a similar name while traveling from his home in Navasota to work in Houston. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for nearly two hours and asked to shave. He felt angry, embarrassed, offended, and scared.
A video of Laynez being arrested by immigration agents sparked heated online debate. Immigration advocacy groups said Laynez, a citizen, was being caught in the crossfire of Florida’s expanded state and local crackdowns on illegal immigrants.
In February of this year, Leniz, a landscaping worker, was driving with his mother and two other coworkers to work when they encountered an immigration raid by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Florida Highway Patrol.
According to video footage, an immigration agent told Leniz, “You don’t have any rights here. You’re a Mexican, man.”
In an interview with CBS, Leniz said, “As a Hispanic, it breaks my heart to be told I have no rights just because of the way I look.” He said his two other coworkers were undocumented immigrants and have been detained and have not been contacted since.
The Border Patrol issued a statement saying that someone resisted arrest during the raid that day, adding that an increasing number of immigration agents have been assaulted while on duty. The statement did not mention any U.S. citizens being detained.
Newsweek reported that Pons said that during his nearly two-hour detention, he repeatedly stated that he was not the wanted person in the photo shown by the agent, but the agent said, “Just because you keep saying it doesn’t mean it’s true.” Pons said it wasn’t until he asked agents to compare the tattoos to a photo of the wanted suspect that they finally admitted they had the wrong man.
Pons said agents drove him home and told him to shave to avoid being mistaken. He said being asked to shave was rude and he wouldn’t comply.
ICE issued a statement to local television station KBTX saying the man was briefly mistaken because he shared the same first, middle, and last names as the wanted suspect, along with his facial hair, creating a striking resemblance.
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