A man who was wrongfully detained in Anchorage by federal immigration officials is claiming that officers stole his wallet, which contained his immigration documents and social security card.
On Feb. 5, Roble Salad, a then-27-year-old refugee from Somalia, was arrested in Anchorage by ICE officers. Margaret Stock, an Anchorage-based immigration expert and Salad’s attorney, said her client was detained while on his way to work.
“They stopped their car, and he was dragged out of the car and arrested,” Stock said. “And at the time they arrested him, they seized his wallet, which had his documents in it, his social security card and his work permit from DHS with this picture on it.”
Stock said a judge later ruled that Salad was unlawfully detained, and issued an order for his release. But when Stock and Salad asked for his wallet back, ICE officials said they didn’t have it.
“When we asked for the documents back,” Stock said, “surprisingly, these Department of Homeland Security law enforcement agents told me that they had discarded his social security card and his work permit at the scene of the arrest, which is not standard behavior for any police officer.”
Officials with ICE did not immediately respond to questions Monday about Salad’s claim that officers threw away his documents or ICE procedures for confiscating property from detainees.
In April, Salad filed a theft report with the Anchorage Police Department, which Alaska Public Media recently obtained a copy of. An APD spokesman Monday said the matter was still under investigation.
Meanwhile, Stock said she’s still fighting to get Salad’s documents back.
“I've checked repeatedly with DHS to see if they found his documents, and they told me as recently as Friday that they had not,” Stock said.
Stock said Salad has applied to get new copies from DHS, but the process can take a long time.
“They take months, if not years, to process,” Stock said. “And we did file one, but of course, it's just sitting there and they haven't approved it. So he's stuck. He doesn't have any documents because they stole them from him.”
Stock said the judge’s order should prevent Salad from being deported in the short term, but the lack of documents makes things like traveling and applying for jobs much more difficult.
She said Salad’s case isn’t unique, and she's seen multiple news reports around the country of ICE detainees having their property discarded at the scene of their arrests.
“I hope the resolution is DHS stops being a lawless agency,” Stock said. “At the moment, DHS, and to some extent, the Department of Justice are not following the law anymore, you know. And it's shocking to me as an attorney, to see lawyers putting false statements into the record and police officers that are supposed to be protecting the community, stealing property from people when they make an illegal, unlawful arrest.”
