Green Card Holder of More Than 30 Years Detained Returning to US

Erlin Richards, a lawful U.S. resident since 1992, was detained by immigration officials on March 9 after returning from international travel and has remained in custody since, according to his lawyer, Michael Z. Goldman.

Newsweek has reached out to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for comment via email on Thursday.

Why It Matters

Richards' detention comes amid an ongoing immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and has detained and deported thousands of people in recent months.

President Donald Trump vowed to prevent illegal immigrants with criminal histories or backgrounds from entering and staying in the U.S. In recent weeks, permanent lawful residents and various visa holders have also been under threat, as well as those with various convictions and ideologies, such as Palestinian protester Mahmoud Khalil.

Rising cases of detention and deportations of people with valid visas and documentation, including the high-profile case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, have led to a general anxiety for green card holders to travel outside the country. Earlier this week, a DACA recipient with valid advanced parole was returned to the U.S. after being deported to Mexico for more than two weeks.

What To Know

Richards, a 44-year-old green card holder who was born in Saint Vincent and has three U.S.-born children, was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York last month, according to The New York Times. Like many recent detainees, he was returning from international vacation, having spent time in the Dominican Republic.

The reason for his detention was his 2006 conviction for marijuana possession. The conviction was in Texas, where marijuana is illegal for recreational use. Several states have legalized marijuana use in recent years, including his resident state of New York.

Goldman told The New York Times that Richards paid a fine for the conviction and never had to serve any jail time.

When Newsweek asked if Richards could be deported for his 2006 conviction, Goldman said, "yes, he could."

Earlier this month, in a rare move, CBP revealed that it denied entry to more than 320 people in February and March at John F. Kennedy Airport alone.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) says that a green card holder has the right to live permanently in the U.S. provided they do not commit any actions that "would make you removable under immigration law." This includes breaking laws and not filing taxes.

If visa or green card holders are found to be violating immigration rules or U.S. law, they can face deportation or removal.

What People Are Saying

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, the Gregory Williams chair in civil rights & civil liberties at Ohio State University College of Law, told Newsweek this month: "The Trump administration has given permanent residents and visa holders plenty of reason to worry about running into problems trying to get back into the United States from a trip abroad. Anyone who isn't a U.S. citizen should think hard about the need to leave the United States, especially if they have made statements on social media that are critical of political positions that the Trump administration supports or have had even minimal contact with police."

Francis J. Russo, director of CBP's New York Field Operations, in a press release: "CBP stands steadfast and determined to prevent those who are willfully attempting to evade our existing immigration laws from entering at our ports. Our employees are dedicated to CBP's mission of keeping those who would wish to harm us or break our laws, out of the United States."

David Leopold, an immigration attorney at UB Greensfelder in Ohio, told Newsweek in March: "I feel like anxiety is higher. I think what people have realized over the last weeks and days is that immigration status in the United States can be challenged, it can be revoked, and there can be serious consequences

Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired immigration professor at Cornell University, previously told Newsweek: "There are many grounds of deportability, including criminal convictions, prostitution, domestic violence."

What Happens Next

Goldman told Newsweek that Richards is being held in Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. Newsweek has been unable to locate Richards in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee database.

His next, and final, court hearing is scheduled for May 16, Goldman said.