A Canadian man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite being a green card holder said he is being treated worse than imprisoned murderers.
Curtis Wright, 39, who lives in Houston, Texas, was grabbed by ICE agents and thrown into the South Texas Processing Center last November.
The oil and gas worker, originally from Edmonton in Alberta, was flagged by authorities after touching down at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston after a business trip in Mexico.
His father Jim Wright spoke with CTV News and said the reason his son is being held all stemmed from a minor drug possession conviction dating back two decades.
According to the elder Wright, who also lives in Texas, his son was found to have a lone Xanax pill in the backseat of his truck 22 years ago when he was in high school.
He also said that he was hit with a misdemeanor charge involving a handgun being found in a car he was driving, and driving impaired eight years ago.
Speaking from the facility, Wright told the outlet: ‘None of it has been enjoyable. The separation from family has been miserable.’
The father-of-three added that the conditions inside are ‘pretty awful’, describing it as ‘run down’ and filled with ‘mold, dirt and grime’.
Wright is pictured here alongside his two sons, fiancé Kayla and their daughter
The father-of-three has been kept inside the facility, seen here, since he was first detained in November of last year
According to Wright when he was first detained he was given a single bottle of water and a frozen waffle over a two-day period.
He added: ‘The food is horrendous. It’s something I don’t think my dog would take a second sniff at.
‘I don’t drink water here without boiling it first. It’s finding ways to not stay sick.’
His father said: ‘If you were in jail for life, for murder, you’d be treated better. You get three good meals a day and you have a yard to go out.’
Wright’s family told the outlet that they believe the conditions are deliberately designed to wear individuals down so they leave the US voluntarily.
According to his family since the driving impairment conviction Wright has cut alcohol from his life and has traveled freely for years and renewed his green card.
His fiancé Kayla Thomsen, with whom he shares an 18-month-old daughter, added: ‘Our whole world has been flipped upside down.
‘I had this perfect life with this amazing man, and then all of a sudden, he’s just gone. Missing him so much has been hard. He’s the provider for this family.’
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His family have filed ahabeas corpus challenge in federal court alleging that he is being unlawfully detained and violating his constitutional rights
Prior to being detained Wright supported ICE agents, but his views have shifted after he was taken in
Thomsen added that the most difficult part is how much their daughter and his two sons from a previous marriage miss their father.
His mother Bonnie added: ‘I really do have a hard time sleeping. It just keeps going over in my mind, over and over again.’
Prior to being detained, Wright was of the view that ICE agents were doing what was necessary, ridding America of what he described as ‘the worst of the worst’.
‘What I’ve come to understand since I’ve been in here is that’s the exact opposite of the people that I’ve met and seen’, he said.
According to Wright most of the individuals he has met inside are ‘like him’, adding: ‘Just people working to provide a life for their family. Trying to be part of society in a productive manner.’
His family have filed a habeas corpus challenge in federal court alleging that he is being unlawfully detained and violating his constitutional rights.
As they continue to hope for his release, they have also launched a GoFundMe page to help him and those he is detained with. It can be found here.
The Daily Mail contacted ICE for comment.
