Published 5 months ago • loading... • Updated 5 months ago

Army veteran says ICE agents detained him for hours without access to phone or attorney

On Jan. 13, William Vermie, combat-wounded Army veteran, says Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him for eight hours after he watched an arrest near 34th Street and Park Avenue and then drove him to the Whipple Building, federal facility in Minneapolis.
Vermie says he was standing on a public sidewalk near the arrest location observing agents arresting two people while officers pushed bystanders back, and video shows multiple agents restraining him and handcuffing him within moments.
Asked for basic care, Vermie added, 'I’d rather have a lawyer than a band-aid when I’m being detained,' and said he repeatedly asked to make a phone call but never received one.
DHS said detainees in ICE custody receive meals, medical care, phone access, and court-approved attorney lists, asserting ICE maintains higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons.
Legal context notes immigration detention is civil so government must allow counsel access; John Chitwood said he faced deliberate stonewalling and delay while seeking Vermie, a combat-wounded Iraq War veteran.

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