Ahmedabad: A Gujarati-origin convenience store owner in the US state of Maine has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with his lawyers challenging the arrest in federal court while immigration authorities maintain that he has been under a final deportation order since 2011.Dhaval Kalidas Patel, who runs Wallace Market in the town of Friendship, Maine, was arrested on June 27 while working at the store’s cash register, according to local media reports. His wife, who jointly operates the business, said ICE agents handcuffed him and took him away without explaining the reason for his arrest.Patel’s legal team, led by attorney Audrey Richardson of Greater Boston Legal Services, filed a habeas corpus petition before a federal court, arguing that he was being unlawfully detained and sought an order requiring ICE to produce him before the court.Within hours of the filing, US district judge Indira Talwani issued an emergency order restraining ICE from transferring Patel to a detention facility outside Massachusetts. He is currently being held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts. The federal govt has been directed to respond to the petition by Monday, July 6, while a hearing date is yet to be fixed.Patel’s attorney said he was a hardworking family man supporting his wife and US-born child, and alleged that ICE officers initially failed to identify themselves or disclose where they were taking him. According to the petition, Patel was allowed to make a phone call only after reaching Scarborough.Knox County sheriff Patrick Polky said federal agencies are not required to notify local police before such operations, although ICE had informed his office in advance in this case.In a statement issued on June 29, ICE said Patel had entered the US illegally on Nov. 1, 2010, and was apprehended by Border Patrol. He was released from detention on March 18, 2011, but subsequently failed to appear before immigration authorities and the immigration court. As a result, an immigration judge issued a final removal order against him in absentia on Aug. 8, 2011.ICE said Patel would remain in federal custody pending deportation proceedings.
