A crowdfunding page created to cover legal expenses has detailed the case of a Portuguese national, with his sister-in-law, Sofia Cabral-Murras, explaining that the young man was detained upon returning to the U.S. from an overseas trip. He is currently held by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a prison outside of Massachusetts, the state where he legally resides.
“Rui has lived in the United States since he was two years old. He has a good job, pays taxes, and lives with his long-term girlfriend. He is a legal resident with a valid Green Card,” explained Sofia Cabral-Murras. “He traveled abroad for a holiday and was detained by the Border Patrol upon return because of an old criminal record,” she added.
“Rui is not a criminal. He is a good person who does not deserve to be in jail while this is resolved,” Sofia emphasized, noting, “We never imagined being in this situation.”
The detention took place at the end of March.
The local newspaper, The New Bedford Light, reports that Rui Murras, aged 32, is currently detained in Portland, Maine, as his family fights to bring him back home.
Born in Portugal, Rui Murras has spent most of his life in New Bedford.
The newspaper notes that Rui had legal issues back in 2012 when he was charged with distributing a Class D controlled substance — typically marijuana — and conspiracy to violate drug laws. The conspiracy charge was dismissed on the recommendation of the probation department in July 2013.
In 2017, Murras faced a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, but the case was dismissed the following year after he completed an alcohol education program.
His defense believes the detention is based on the 2012 drug trafficking charge, which was resolved.
Despite holding a permanent residence visa, the Portuguese national faces potential deportation, a fate shared by other foreigners.
Last month, U.S. immigration authorities interviewed and detained a German citizen with a Green Card upon his return from Luxembourg.
Fabian Schmidt, a 34-year-old electrical engineer, was transported to a federal detention center in Rhode Island after being interrogated and detained at Logan Airport in Boston.
According to Schmidt’s mother, the German national also had legal issues over a decade ago when authorities found marijuana in his car in 2015, a case that was reportedly dismissed.
Legal permanent residency, granted via a Green Card, allows individuals to live and work indefinitely in the United States but does not shield them from deportation.
Approximately 12.8 million Green Card holders reside in the United States, according to recent estimates from the Office of Immigration Statistics.
Since Donald Trump returned to the Presidency of the United States, cases of Green Card holders being detained and facing deportation have increased.
The most high-profile case is Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and protest leader against the war in Gaza, whose Green Card was revoked, initiating deportation proceedings.
