A mentally ill man has spent nearly 10 months in US immigration detention while authorities pursue his deportation to Jamaica, despite claims from his mother, lawyers and public records that he was born in the United States, an Associated Press investigation has found.
The case has raised concerns about how immigration officials verify citizenship, particularly as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies efforts to deport people suspected of living in the country illegally.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not have the authority to detain American citizens for immigration violations. However, such cases have occurred when officers mistake identities or are unable to immediately establish a person’s citizenship. Immigration lawyers say detaining someone for almost 10 months under these circumstances is unusual, although not unprecedented.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, disputes the claim that the man is an American citizen. It has alleged, without presenting supporting evidence, that the birth certificate he used to obtain a US passport was fraudulent. The man reportedly held the passport for 15 years.
However, AP’s examination of documents found evidence supporting claims by his mother and legal representatives that he was born in Florida, which would make him a US citizen by birth.
The man, identified in court documents as 39-year-old Phillip James, also known as Felibi Siagha-Coke, remains at an ICE detention facility in Indiana referred to as the “Speedway Slammer”.
His lawyers are challenging an immigration judge’s decision ordering his deportation to Jamaica. A federal judge has also indicated that a decision could soon be made on a petition seeking his release from detention.
Mental illness raises questions over deportation case
According to the AP review, immigration authorities relied on James’ own account that he was born in Jamaica and entered the United States illegally in 2009 when pursuing his detention and removal.
However, Jamaican authorities have reportedly said they have no record of his birth or citizenship in the country. Public records also indicate that James has been unable to provide evidence supporting his claim.
Medical experts who recently assessed him said his insistence that he was born in Jamaica was linked to a grand delusion associated with paranoid schizophrenia, a condition with which he has been diagnosed.
Court reports indicate that James has made other claims that experts consider delusional, including that he is the illegitimate son of a former Jamaican prime minister and a descendant of a royal family in Lebanon. He has also claimed Lebanese citizenship, but evidence supporting those assertions has not been established.
One psychologist who evaluated him concluded that James could not be considered “a reliable historian due to the serious nature of his mental illness, including a deeply entrenched delusional belief system.”
The findings have prompted questions about whether authorities adequately investigated his background and took his mental condition into account before pursuing deportation.
The AP investigation suggested that a limited inquiry, weak oversight or a possible reluctance to acknowledge an error may have contributed to his prolonged detention.
James’ case remains before the courts as his lawyers seek to overturn the deportation decision and secure his release.
