Rui Murras / Facebook
Works in the US always, pays taxes and has a Green Card. It can be deported because of an old problem with justice.
A Portuguese with permanent residence permit in the United States, and living on American soil since he was 2 years old, was arrested in late March 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 arrested as he returned to the US after a trip abroad, being Currently in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Service (Ice, on the acronym) and kept in a prison Outside Massachusetts, a state where he lives legally.
“Rui resides in the United States since the age of 2. Has a good job, Pay your taxes and lives with your longtime girlfriend. It is a legal resident with a ‘Green Card’ – permanent residence permit in the US – valid. He traveled out of the country on vacation and was arrested by the border patrol when he returned because of an old criminal record, ”explained 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 imagine being in this situation.”
According to the local newspaper The New Bedford Light, the Portuguese in question – Rui Murras -, 32, is currently arrested In Portland, city in the state of Maine, while his family struggles to bring him back home. Born in Portugal, Rui MurraS lived almost all his life in New Bedford.
In the newspaper it is indicated that Portuguese had problems with the court in 2012, when it was “accused of distribute a substance Class D Controlled – typically Marijuana – and conspiracy to violate drug laws ”, and the conspiracy accusation was rejected by recommendation of the Conditional Freedom Department in July 2013.
In 2017, Murras was accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, But the case was filed the following year after the Portuguese completed an alcohol education program.
The Portuguese defense believes that the detention is based on the 2012 drug trafficking accusation, which was eventually resolved.
Contacted by Lusa, an official source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “MNE is following the case of this Portuguese since the end of March. ”And he said that the Portuguese consul in New Bedford” has spoken to him and his family. “guarantees that” we are in contact with the US authorities. “
Rui runs risk of deportation
Even though it has a permanent residence visa, the Portuguese can be deportedas is happening with other foreigners.
Like last month, US immigration authorities interrogated and detained a German citizen holding a ‘Green Card’ while returning from a trip to Luxembourg.
Fabian Schmidt, a 34 -year -old electrical engineer, was transported to a federal detention center in Rhode Island after being interrogated and detained at Logan airport in Boston.
According to Schmidt’s mother, the German also had Problems with Justice More than a decade ago, after the authorities found Marijuana in their car in 2015, in a case that was filed.
Legal permanent residence – granted through ‘Green Card’ – gives the right to live and work in the United States indefinitely, but does not protect individuals from deportation.
Nearly 12.8 million Green Card patients live in the United States, according to the latest estimates of the internal security statistics office.
Since Donald Trump has returned to the US presidency, the cases of ‘Green Card’ who are detainees and in the process of deportation.
The most media example is that of Mahmoud Khalil, a student at the University of Columbia who led protests against war in the Gaza Strip and who had his ‘Green Card’ revoked and the process of deportation started.
