Miguel Ponce says agents handcuffed him, claimed he had a deportation order — and didn’t believe he was a U.S. citizen.
HOUSTON — A Houston man says he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for nearly two hours — even after he told them he was a U.S. citizen and showed valid identification.
“Bro, I was born in College Station. There is no way — what is going on?” said Miguel Angel Ponce Jr., 33.
Ponce says the incident happened early Wednesday morning, just as he was heading to work. He told KHOU 11 that ICE agents approached him and asked for identification.
“He says, ‘I need to see your ID.’ I gave him the ID. When I went back down, he said, ‘Get out of the car,'” Ponce said.
“For what?” Ponce said he asked. “‘Get out.'”
He says officers then handcuffed him and took him away.
“I pretty much felt kidnapped. [They] told me I have a deportation order, put me in handcuffs, took me to another location. I couldn’t call my wife — locked up in the back seat.”
Despite showing his ID and insisting he was born in the U.S., Ponce says the officers continued to insist he was someone with immigration violations.
“[He] said, ‘You’ve had an encounter with ICE.’ I said, ‘No, I’ve never…’ At that point, he slapped handcuffs on me. They’re like, ‘You have an order of deportation.’ That is crazy — because I was born here. I was born in College Station. ‘No, you’re the one I’m looking for.'”
Ponce says ICE never showed him a warrant — only a photo.
“How can I tell it’s me? You’re saying, how can I tell?”
He says it wasn’t until nearly two hours later that he convinced the officers to compare his tattoos to the person they were actually looking for.
“It’s a horrible experience.”
In a statement, ICE said agents were targeting someone with a violent criminal history and multiple child sex offenses. The suspect, they said, shared the same name and “bore a striking resemblance” to Ponce.
When told that, Ponce had a strong reaction.
“It pisses me off. It’s like — you didn’t tell me what you were looking for. You don’t even know who it was. Now he has all the charges.”
ICE also said the agents returned Ponce to his home and apologized for the confusion. But Ponce says he remembers it differently.
“They dropped me off here… gave me the keys and said, ‘Shave your beard off so we won’t mistake you again.’ And everyone went their own way.”
Now, he’s questioning how something like this could happen — and what it means for others.
“This is not right.”
“It’s not possible that Harris County can pull my ID and know who I am in five to 10 minutes. These federal agents take an hour and a half, two hours, trying to figure out who I am. Doesn’t make sense.”