“We are in contact with US authorities,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) said on Monday it is “accompanying” the case of Portuguese detained for US immigration services since late March and is in contact with US authorities.
Contacted by Lusa, the ministry’s official source stated that “MNE has been following the case of this Portuguese since the end of March”. And he said that the Portuguese consul in New Bedford “has already spoken to him and his family.”
“We are in contact with the US authorities,” the same source said, no longer any details about the case.
A Portuguese with permanent residence permit in the United States, and living on US soil since he was 2 years old, was arrested by immigration authorities as he returned from a trip abroad, he denounced the young man’s family.
On a fundraising page created to cover the legal expenses of the case, the Portuguese sister-in-law, Sofia Cabral-Murras, presented details about the case, explaining that the young man was detained by returning to the US after a trip abroad, being currently in the custody of the immigration and customs service (ICE) and kept in a prison outside of Massachusetts, where he resides legally.
“Rui has resided in the United States since he was 2 years old. He has a good job, pays his taxes and lives with his longstanding girlfriend. He is a legal resident with a ‘Green Card’ – permanent residence permanently – valid. He traveled out of the country on vacation and was detained by the border patrol when he returned from an old criminal record,” said Sofia Cabral -Murras.
“Rui is not a criminal. He is a good person who does not deserve to be in prison until this is clarified,” said the sister -in -law, stressing, “We never imagined being in this situation.”
According to the local newspaper The New Bedford Light, the 32 -year -old Portuguese – Rui Murras – is currently detained in Portland, a city in the state of Maine, while the family fights to bring him back home.
Born in Portugal, Rui Murras lived almost all his life in New Bedford.
