U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained a deputy U.S. marshal inside the home of Arizona's immigration court after they matched the "general description" of a person of interest agents were looking for.
"A Deputy US Marshal who fit the general description of a subject being sought by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was briefly detained at a federal building in Tucson after entering the lobby of the building," the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement obtained by the Arizona Daily Star.
"The Deputy US Marshal's identity was quickly confirmed by other law enforcement officers, and he exited the building without incident," the statement continued.
The incident reportedly took place in late May, sources told the Daily Star. The building the marshal was detained at both houses deputy U.S. marshals and the state's immigration court.
ICE agents have begun turning to immigration courts across the country as spots to detain migrants they accuse of being in the country illegally. However, this incident has caused concern among legal experts as U.S. marshals work for the federal government.
"It begs the question of what other situations are happening, what else aren't we hearing about regular people in the community getting mistakenly picked up?" Noah Schramm, a policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona, told the outlet.
ICE has come under fire several times over the past few months after accidentally detaining American citizens and people in the country legally. One Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, made national headlines after he was mistakenly sent to a mega prison in El Salvador.
The increase in detainments across the country came as part of President Donald Trump's campaign promise for "mass deportations." Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Trump adviser Stephen Miller reportedly directed immigration officials to aim for 3,000 arrests per day. This past Tuesday alone, more than 2,200 individuals were detained.
ICE has not publicly addressed the incident and the deputy marshal involved has not been identified.
Originally published on Latin Times
