A devastating mistake within the U.S. immigration system has left a father separated from his children and locked away in what human rights groups have called one of the most dangerous prisons in the world. The man, an American resident and father of three, was mistakenly deported to a foreign country due to a reported administrative error during the Trump administration. The mistake has now gained national attention following a newly released update from officials who were directly involved in the case.
According to a report from NBC News, the man was sent to a nation where political tensions and corruption have made imprisonment an almost certain death sentence for many detainees. He was picked up by local authorities shortly after his forced arrival and placed in what Amnesty International has repeatedly referred to as the “world’s worst prison.” Conditions include overcrowding, lack of clean water, reports of torture, and no access to legal representation.
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that a serious processing error led to the wrongful deportation. A statement released Friday revealed that a clerical mistake flagged the man as removable, despite the fact that he was protected under current immigration law. The error was not detected in time to halt the deportation. Once he arrived abroad, he was immediately apprehended under suspicion due to his ties to the U.S.
His wife, a U.S. citizen, has since spoken out in a viral CBS interview, saying, “They stole my husband from us. One second he was here, the next I’m told he’s on a flight to hell.” She has launched an emergency petition on Change.org, which has already gained over 250,000 signatures within 72 hours.
Inside the prison, communication is nearly impossible. A leaked message smuggled out through another detainee revealed that the man was being held without food for days at a time and subjected to extreme physical abuse. “I’m scared I won’t make it out,” he reportedly wrote. Human rights activists have condemned the U.S. government’s role in allowing this to happen, and several organizations including ACLU are now involved in legal action.
White House officials under the Trump-era immigration task force have remained mostly silent, but a senior aide released a brief video statement confirming that the administration is reviewing “legacy cases” where improper deportations may have occurred. “This is not who we are as a country,” the aide said. “No one should end up in a death trap because of a clerical issue.”
The story has sparked outrage online. A viral TikTok calling out the immigration system’s failings has been viewed over 8 million times. “This isn’t just about immigration,” the creator says. “This is about due process. About human dignity.” Twitter users have also flooded threads under #BringHimHome, demanding an emergency extraction effort to save the man before it’s too late.
Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared the story in a post, writing, “We have the power and the responsibility to fix this. This man deserves justice — and his children deserve their father back.” Other politicians from both parties have called for hearings and investigations, though no timeline has been given for the man’s potential return.
A GoFundMe page created by his daughter, titled “Help Bring Our Dad Back From Hell,” has already raised over $180,000. The funds are reportedly going toward legal representation abroad and diplomatic appeals. A tearful video posted to the page shows the young girl holding a photo of her father, saying, “Daddy, please come home. I miss you.”
The prison where he is currently held has a global reputation for abuse. According to a Human Rights Watch investigation, it ranks among the top five most lethal correctional facilities on earth, with hundreds dying annually from abuse, disease, or unexplained circumstances. The fact that an American green card holder was deposited there without recourse has outraged both advocacy groups and former diplomats.
Calls have now escalated for immediate action from the Biden administration, with several immigration attorneys demanding an emergency extraction team be sent. In a recent Instagram reel viewed over 900,000 times, activist @FreedomForFamilies stated, “This is what happens when bureaucratic errors aren’t caught in time — lives are destroyed.”
Meanwhile, the man’s wife continues to fight. She appeared again on CNN Newsroom this week, standing beside her children with a sign that read, “He’s a father, not a case number.” The youngest child clutched a plush bear that once belonged to his dad, unaware of the global attention now surrounding their tragic story.
