Lawyers say immigration officials in Maine detained a Massachusetts man for a week, and had him hospitalized, without telling his family where he was.
Humberto Cachimuel Alfusi, originally from Ecuador, was traveling to Maine for a craft fair on July 16 when he was detained by Customs and Border Protection near Fort Fairfield, according to court documents.
Days later, Alfusi’s family members received a call from a CBP official saying Alfusi, who suffers from multiple medical conditions, had been hospitalized. Alfusi’s lawyer, Carl Hurvitch, said the official didn’t say where he was being treated.
“What is odd about this case is that he was kept for so long with absolutely no ability to contact an attorney, to contact family, and that even through what seemed to be an acute medical crisis, this agency decided to bring him to the hospital on their own without even notifying the family,” Hurvitch said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. attorney’s office said Alfusi was being transferred to ICE custody in Massachusetts, according to Hurvitch.
Hurvitch said Alfusi entered the country on a tourist visa 25 years ago, and has a daughter who is a U.S. citizen.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
