Dad In Custody at US Border (From Canada)

K

kaalirange

New Member
Jurisdiction
Michigan
Hey,

So my Dad is supposedly in custody at the Detroit US border from what I believe, however, not 100%. The customs people called to tell us he is fine and that is it and whenever I asked any other questions they were met with "its private matters and we cannot disclose anything to you". I'm frantically trying to figure out what happened and it was wondering if anyone had advice or could point me in the correct direction of what to do.

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place but I'm just posting my question everywhere I possibly can to get some information as I am absolutely clueless and stressed, to be honest.
 
kaalirange said:
Hey,

So my Dad is supposedly in custody at the Detroit US border from what I believe, however, not 100%. The customs people called to tell us he is fine and that is it and whenever I asked any other questions they were met with "its private matters and we cannot disclose anything to you". I'm frantically trying to figure out what happened and it was wondering if anyone had advice or could point me in the correct direction of what to do.

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place but I'm just posting my question everywhere I possibly can to get some information as I am absolutely clueless and stressed, to be honest.
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You could hire an attorney to assist your father. Is Dad a US citizen? Does he have a criminal history? Do you know why he was trying to cross the Canadian boarder?
 
justblue said:
You could hire an attorney to assist your father. Is Dad a US citizen? Does he have a criminal history? Do you know why he was trying to cross the Canadian boarder?
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Sorry I forgot to include that he is a Truck Driver and he had a load which started in Canada (he's a Canadian citizen not a US citizen) How would I go about hiring an attorny
 
kaalirange said:
Sorry I forgot to include that he is a Truck Driver and he had a load which started in Canada (he's a Canadian citizen not a US citizen) How would I go about hiring an attorny
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You could get some referrals from the Michigan Bar Association ...it would be wise to hire a lawyer that is close to where your father is being held as travel time can get expensive.
 
justblue said:
You could get some referrals from the Michigan Bar Association ...it would be wise to hire a lawyer that is close to where your father is being held as travel time can get expensive.
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considering we have no clue if he's even charged or what the situation is? Would it still be wise? Sorry just don't know what to do!
 
justblue said:
If I were you that is what I would do...but stick around and you may get other options from other volunteers.

@Tax Counsel @zddoodah @army judge @Michael Wechsler

I tagged some of the attorneys that volunteer here. :)
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Thank you so much! I started calling around and I guess everyone is closed currently. Would I look for immigration attorneys or criminal? I don't know where to start! You have been such great help and you don't realize how much I appreciate you helping me in this time of uncertainty! God Bless you.
 
kaalirange said:
Thank you so much! I started calling around and I guess everyone is closed currently. Would I look for immigration attorneys or criminal? I don't know where to start! You have been such great help and you don't realize how much I appreciate you helping me in this time of uncertainty! God Bless you.
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I would go with immigration...If the attorney is able to find out (and s/he should be able to) what the deal is, and Dad needs a criminal law attorney then the attorney will let you know.
You might hear more tomorrow about what the issue is, so perhaps give it a bit before hiring the attorney. One or more of the attorneys I tagged should post by morning.

And you are very welcome, Hon...I hope it's nothing serious and Dad is released soon.
 
kaalirange said:
I'm sorry if this is the wrong place but I'm just posting my question everywhere I possibly can to get some information as I am absolutely clueless and stressed, to be honest.
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If he is in federal custody, it should be easy to discover where he is located.

Have you considered the possibility that the call was a hoax or a prank?

This DC based lawyer explains what you can do if a loved one has been arrested by federal authorities:

What To Do First If a Loved One Is Arrested by Federal Agents

If he was arrested by the feds, he should end up here, Wayne County Jail, you can search using his name:

Search Jail Inmates
 
I have considered that the call is a prank, however, he was actually going to cross the border so I Don't think that as of yet... I know there are scams extorting and stuff however, it seemed really professional and applicable.

The issue is that I'm not even sure if he is in custody charged or anything. All we know is that he is at the Detroit border and is "fine" anything else cannot be released because of privacy concerns - what the lady on the phone said.

He was allowed to call me and so they tried to reach out to me, however, I was playing outside and my Mom picked up and as she struggles with English handed it over to my sister who is even younger than me. We have been able to have 0 contact with him. Just a call letting us know hes fine... whatever the hell that means. I asked her if I could call on his cell as she says she cannot confirm my identity to tell me the details - to which she said he has his cellphone confiscated...

I searched the jail directory and he has not shown up. This all happened maybe 3 hours ago so I'm not sure if he would be processed etc (sorry don't know anything about this)

On a side note, I'm really concerned for my Dad as he is really naive and he would most likely waive his right to a lawyer and silence as me and him have talked many times on what to do if he gets pulled over etc as I am intrigued by law and will hopefully become a lawyer soon (not yet in law school) however he always seems to just want to give up his rights because "he wants to show he has nothing to hide".

The other link you posted doesn't really feel applicable to me as no hearing has been announced. Thank you so much for your help and I hope to become like you and give back to people once I become a lawyer!
also I don't know why I'm limited to 5 posts but I made another account to continue this conversation.
 
kaalirange2.0 said:
I have considered that the call is a prank, however, he was actually going to cross the border so I Don't think that as of yet... I know there are scams extorting and stuff however, it seemed really professional and applicable.

The issue is that I'm not even sure if he is in custody charged or anything. All we know is that he is at the Detroit border and is "fine" anything else cannot be released because of privacy concerns - what the lady on the phone said.

He was allowed to call me and so they tried to reach out to me, however, I was playing outside and my Mom picked up and as she struggles with English handed it over to my sister who is even younger than me. We have been able to have 0 contact with him. Just a call letting us know hes fine... whatever the hell that means. I asked her if I could call on his cell as she says she cannot confirm my identity to tell me the details - to which she said he has his cellphone confiscated...

I searched the jail directory and he has not shown up. This all happened maybe 3 hours ago so I'm not sure if he would be processed etc (sorry don't know anything about this)

On a side note, I'm really concerned for my Dad as he is really naive and he would most likely waive his right to a lawyer and silence as me and him have talked many times on what to do if he gets pulled over etc as I am intrigued by law and will hopefully become a lawyer soon (not yet in law school) however he always seems to just want to give up his rights because "he wants to show he has nothing to hide".

The other link you posted doesn't really feel applicable to me as no hearing has been announced. Thank you so much for your help and I hope to become like you and give back to people once I become a lawyer!
also I don't know why I'm limited to 5 posts but I made another account to continue this conversation.
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He may be in quarantine :

Covid-19 Coronavirus Travel Issues | ezbordercrossing
 
justblue said:
He may be in quarantine :


Wouldn't you reckon they would have simply told us that? Hes a truck driver that goes through the US all the time and while I don't want to disrespect you I don't understand why we aren't allowed to talk to him if that is the case.
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Wouldn't you reckon they would have simply told us that? Hes a truck driver that goes through the US all the time and while I don't want to disrespect you I don't understand why we aren't allowed to talk to him if that is the case.

Sorry the formatting above came out weird as I was not allowed to post some content... thank you.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
kaalirange2.0 said:
Wouldn't you reckon they would have simply told us that? Hes a truck driver that goes through the US all the time and while I don't want to disrespect you I don't understand why we aren't allowed to talk to him if that is the case.

Sorry the formatting above came out weird as I was not allowed to post some content... thank you.
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Yeah...there is a 5 post limit for new members to prevent/limit spammer mayhem.

The boarder agent "might" have thought that s/he couldn't release that info because it's medical....I don't know...Just tossing some ideas out there.
 
kaalirange2.0 said:
I searched the jail directory and he has not shown up. This all happened maybe 3 hours ago so I'm not sure if he would be processed etc (sorry don't know anything about this)
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In the USA all people arrested are allowed to make at least ONE phone call after they have been booked into the jail.

If I recall correctly, federal arrestees detained in Detroit are housed in a Wayne County jail.

There are a few federal prisons in the area, but they house only convicted persons, not arrestees.

In our country, a person is INNOCENT until proven guilty.
That presumption of innocence affords them many rights, rights not afforded to convicted people.

Have you tried contacting the trucking company that employs your father?

Give the dispatcher a call and see if the company has heard from him.
If dad was arrested, the truck he was driving has been impounded and the owner of the truck (and the shipment) has been notified (or will be notified eventually).

Also, let us know what you learn.
The legal system can be a grind, but know that your father enjoys the SAME rights as any US citizen would enjoy.

He has the right to post bail.
He has the right NOT to incriminate himself.
He has the right to fair trial.
He has the right an attorney to assist him in a defense.
His ultimate right is that the state must prove the charges they have lodged, and he need not lift one hand to defend himself.

On the other hand, until you have proven that the call isn't a hoax, have faith in our legal system.
 
army judge said:
In the USA all people arrested are allowed to make at least ONE phone call after they have been booked into the jail.

If I recall correctly, federal arrestees detained in Detroit are housed in a Wayne County jail.

There are a few federal prisons in the area, but they house only convicted persons, not arrestees.

In our country, a person is INNOCENT until proven guilty.
That presumption of innocence affords them many rights, rights not afforded to convicted people.

Have you tried contacting the trucking company that employs your father?

Give the dispatcher a call and see if the company has heard from him.
If dad was arrested, the truck he was driving has been impounded and the owner of the truck (and the shipment) has been notified (or will be notified eventually).

Also, let us know what you learn.
The legal system can be a grind, but know that your father enjoys the SAME rights as any US citizen would enjoy.

He has the right to post bail.
He has the right NOT to incriminate himself.
He has the right to fair trial.
He has the right an attorney to assist him in a defense.
His ultimate right is that the state must prove the charges they have lodged, and he need not lift one hand to defend himself.

On the other hand, until you have proven that the call isn't a hoax, have faith in our legal system.
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I'm not sure if he has been booked into jail or anything of that sort... I checked the wayne county directory and was not able to find him. I agree with the federal prison vs jail sentiment and its highly unlikely that he is there.

I agree with INNOCENT until proven guilty and have a bit of faith in the US judicial system however, I would just like communication as to what the situation is.

My dad is owner operator and owns his own tractor trailer. The dispatcher/company sent him to the wrong border (was supposed to go to Sarnia border) which is near port Huron. However paper mixup and he went to Detroit and as that wasn't really a huge issue my mom told me they called at about noon and my dad was telling her how hes in line for a X-Ray... not a good look i know. Haven't heard from him since.

His truck was also stolen maybe a week ago but was recovered so my family is worried that they may have planted something? Not sure.

I agree with the rights every US citizen has that also apply to him, however knowing the naive person he is, I'm scared he would love to waive them under the presumption that he would look like hes acting in good faith (I know this is FAR from the case). So i just really want to contact him and get him legal council ASAP. I have some money I have made from stocks and would love to use them if I have to on a lawyer or whatever needs to be done.

As far as the call being a hoax they have not asked for any money and his phone has been off and while I know you can spoof a call the number does show as an american number in detroit. Thank you once again on your assistance.
 
kaalirange2.0 said:
Wouldn't you reckon they would have simply told us that? Hes a truck driver that goes through the US all the time and while I don't want to disrespect you I don't understand why we aren't allowed to talk to him if that is the case.

Sorry the formatting above came out weird as I was not allowed to post some content... thank you.
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Just to make sure I'm clear on this...Your Dad was driving from Canada to the states on a trucking delivery? And you and your family are in Michigan or are you in Canada?
 

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