New Mexico teen, detained for ‘illegal’ US entry, spends 10 days in immigration custody before release

A New Mexico teenager, an American citizen, was detained by the federal United States Border Patrol for “illegally” entering the country and spent 10 days in their custody before being released on court orders, his family has said. The incident occurred earlier this month while he was visiting Arizona, they added.
Jose Hermosillo was detained near Nogales, Arizona, on April 8, court documents show, according to NBC. On April 17, a judge dismissed the case and ordered his release.
As per the documents, Hermosillo entered from Mexico and was found “without the proper immigration documents.” The documents also said the 19-year-old “admitted” he made the “illegal” entry “on or about April 7.”
Hermosillo, who lives in New Mexico’s Albuquerque, was in Tucson, Arizona, with his girlfriend to reportedly meet family.
He was “lost” and walking near the Border Patrol headquarters when he was detained. At the time, the teenager did not have an identification card and denied being in Nogales, a city on the US-Mexico border, about 70 miles from Tucson.
The aunt of Hermosillo’s girlfriend said they gave officials his social security card and birth certificate when they came to know what had happened with him. He was being kept at a correctional facility in Florence, Arizona.
The aunt further stated Hermosillo informed Border Patrol agents about his American nationality, but “they didn’t believe him.” The woman added she thought he “probably would have been deported already to Mexico.”
‘False narrative being pushed’: DHS
Meanwhile, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official rejected what she described as a “false narrative” regarding the case.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary, DHS, wrote on X, “On April 8, Hermosillo approached Border Patrol in Tucson and stated he had entered the US illegally through Nogales. He said he wanted to turn himself in and completed a sworn statement identifying as a Mexican citizen who had entered unlawfully.”
McLaughlin added, “He was processed and appeared in court on April 11. Afterward, he was held by the US marshals in Florence, Arizona. A few days later, his family presented documents showing US citizenship. The charges were dismissed, and he was released to his family.”
The teenager’s arrest, therefore, was as a result of “his own actions and statements,” she asserted.