A 32-year-old Venezuelan man reportedly took a wrong turn onto the Ambassador Bridge, crossing into Canada, while delivering food back in January, and has since been detained and deported to El Salvador.
According to the New York Times, which first reported on the incident, Ricardo Prada Vásquez was detained on Jan. 15 while attempting to reenter the U.S. at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and was taken into custody by U.S. authorities.
“We’re concerned that, again, a wrong turn at the border really shouldn’t mean that our neighbors are disappearing,” said Christine Sauve, policy engagement and communications manager at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on social media that Vasquez was sent to El Salvador on March 15 and denied the Times’ report that he did not appear on the list of people sent to a prison there. The department claims he was a member of a criminal organization called Tren de Aragua who entered the United States at the Brownsville, Texas, Port of Entry on Nov. 29, 2024.
Immigration rights experts like Sauve say they are concerned about this case and others where people are being deported without due process.
“We’ve seen long-term detentions where they shouldn’t be happening, and there’s no oversight or body to look into these matters and investigate them,” she said. “All persons in the United States, regardless of their immigration status, no matter who they are or where they’re from, have rights to due process.”
Last month, an undocumented mother, Sarahi, from Guatemala, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers after she too accidentally turned onto the Ambassador Bridge.
The woman’s attorney, Ruby Robinson of the Michigan Immigration Rights Center, said she doesn’t have legal status and was immediately detained by Customs and Border Protection when she reached the security checkpoint, along with her two daughters.
“Sadly, our client’s story fits a pattern of concerns we are hearing anecdotally in regard to CBP short-term detention spaces being used for prolonged detention,” Robinson said. “CBP is an intercepting agency whose facilities are not designed for extended detention. But under this administration, prolonged detention with CBP is becoming increasingly more commonplace, and I have no doubt that CBP staff are doing their best under the circumstances to provide the best care for the people in their custody.
“We think there are more individuals, like Sarahi, affected, and their stories are untold.”
On Thursday, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, the ACLU and Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib spoke on the detentions and disappearance of immigrants in custody at the U.S.-Canada border.
“A wrong turn should not lead to a disappearance and an erosion of someone’s due process or being treated with human rights,” Tlaib said. “It’s heartbreaking and infuriating to hear the story of Sarahi and Mr. Prada. They were both held at the local facility that I visited in March.”