ICE Detains British Dad of US Citizen Twins at Green Card Interview
Newsweek · C · trust 48/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The British father of 3-year-old American twin boys was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) during a green card interview in June. Newsweek has confirmed that Connor Michael Read is being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center.
Read, 29, first came to the U.S. two decades ago and was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient for years. He was issued a removal order in 2011, an ICE spokesperson told Newsweek in an email Thursday evening, noting that "after a violation of the terms of their visa, Read was placed into removal proceedings."
“His criminal history includes convictions for possession of narcotic equipment, possession of liquor, and resisting an officer,” the statement continued. Court records reviewed by Newsweek show Read's criminal history includes cannabis, drug paraphernalia and underage alcohol possession offenses in Florida.
Marriage to a U.S. citizen remains a common route to obtaining a green card. But immigration attorneys and advocates say the Trump administration has stepped up enforcement and vetting involving citizens' spouses, while administration officials argue they are enforcing laws that were not adequately applied under previous administrations.
Newsweek has tried to get in contact with the Read family via a GoFundMe set up on his behalf as well as an email address associated with Read.
A review of court records by Newsweek finds Read's criminal history consists of several offenses that received adjudication withheld in Florida, which means a court finds or is presented with a factual basis for guilt, such as a guilty plea, no contest plea, or basis for guilt, among others, but does not formally enter a judgment of guilt, meaning no recorded conviction.
His charges include drug paraphernalia possession, underage alcohol possession and offenses involving a fictitious ID.
In June 2017, Read was stopped by the Windermere Police for possession of alcohol by a person under age 21. Court records show he received adjudication withheld.
Later that year, in November 2017, Read was arrested by the Winter Garden Police Department on charges of attempted possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Orange County, Florida, records show Read received adjudication withheld on the marijuana charge and a guilty disposition on the paraphernalia charge.
Under Florida law, possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis is a third-degree felony.
Read was detained while he and his wife, Jaelin, and twin sons were all at his green card interview appointment. He and his wife met in 2020 and later married. The couple told The Times that their I-130 petition, part of the green card process that is needed to confirm their relationship status, was approved on the same day he was detained, June 3.
Read has lived in Florida since he was 9 years old, having come from the United Kingdom with his mother. He was a DACA recipient at age 16, The Times reported.
In 2012, then-President Barack Obama introduced the DACA program, offering protections and work authorizations for millions of undocumented residents who came to the U.S. as minors.
DACA recipients, commonly referred to as Dreamers, are granted the right to legally live and work in the US. DACA does not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship, and recipients remain vulnerable to changes in policy or legal challenges. It's not immediately clear when he lost his DACA status. DACA recipients must renew their status every two years.
Years after coming to the U.S., his mother remarried an American man and was granted a green card along with Read’s siblings, according to The Times . At the time, Read was over 18 years old and was reportedly told by legal counsel to apply for a green card separately.
An ICE spokesperson told Newsweek , “Read entered the United States on Nov. 21, 2007, through the Orlando International Airport as a nonimmigrant with an F-2 visa, as a dependent of an F-1 nonimmigrant student.”
The statement continued, “Read’s status was contingent upon his parent’s status as a student. After a violation of the terms of their visa, Read was placed into removal proceedings.”
After being held at a local jail for several days in June, he was transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana. He told The Times that agents bound his hands and tied his ankles together, adding, “You’d think they were transporting a bunch of murderers.”
He described the conditions in the jail as "horrible" and "dirty," and noted that in the ICE facility several detainees, including himself, have gotten "pretty sick." He told The Times , he had a "Headache. The shivers. Really cold. I’ve never really gotten sick like that before. It was pretty rough."
However, ICE said in a statement to Newsweek, "Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE facilities are FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.
Read runs Refresh Florida, a pressure-washing business. His wife has never been abroad but says they are considering moving the family to the United Kingdom if her husband is deported.
In a GoFundMe created on their behalf, the organizer writes, "The family relies heavily on Connor’s income and he also cares for the boys while Jae works."
Marriage-based green cards allow foreign-born spouses of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain permanent residency in the United States. Spouses of U.S. citizens are classified as "immediate relatives," making them exempt from annual visa caps.
DHS data show that about 343,000 spouses of U.S. citizens obtained lawful…
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