AP review says documents back claim ICE detained mentally ill citizen

The short version

• Associated Press reports documents support claims that Phillip James, detained by ICE in Indiana, was born in Florida to a U.S. citizen mother.[Associated Press]
• The Department of Homeland Security disputes his citizenship and alleges, without providing evidence, that his birth certificate was fraudulent.[Associated Press]
• Jamaican officials report no record of his birth or citizenship, and medical experts' court reports describe his Jamaican-birth insistence as a delusion tied to paranoid schizophrenia.[Associated Press]
• The Department of Homeland Security denies that ICE detains U.S. citizens, leaving his citizenship status unresolved.[Associated Press]

Key facts

• Phillip James, 39, has been held by ICE in Indiana since his arrest after a January 5 immigration hearing.[Associated Press]
• AP obtained a 1988 court paternity document that matches details on a birth certificate listing a 1987 birth in Orange County, Florida.[Associated Press]
• James received a U.S. passport in 2008 after submitting the birth certificate with his application.[Associated Press]
• Jamaican officials have denied any record that James was born in Jamaica or holds citizenship there.[Associated Press]
• Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Irvin's September 28 filing described James as a native of Jamaica and a citizen of Lebanon who entered the United States without admission.[Associated Press]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• AP investigation: Documents support claim ICE has detained a mentally ill US citizen since JanuaryAssociated Press · Wire: associated-press