Peter Guzman

Pedro Guzman (also Peter Guzman) is a United States citizen who was erroneously and illegally deported to Mexico by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) in May 2007. He spent 85 days in Mexico before successfully returning to the United States and his family. He is currently involved in a lawsuit filed on February 27, 2008 against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and ICE.

Sometime prior to 2008, Guzman was arrested for trespassing in a Lancaster airport, where he attempted to board a private airplane, and was subsequently sentenced to 120 days in a Los Angeles County jail (later reduced to 40 days). During custody, a sheriff's department employee erroneously reported him to the ICE as a non-citizen, despite both departmental records and a statement Guzman made at booking identifying him as a US citizen.

Once transferred to ICE custody, Guzman signed a document agreeing to a voluntary deportation to Mexico. ICE officials claimed that Guzman "repeatedly told ICE officers and Customs and Border Patrol officials and others that he was born in Mexico". He was then transferred to Tijuana, Baja California, and given $3 to survive with. Using a borrowed cell phone, Guzman made a call to his family explaining his deportation, but the call was disconnected.

Guzman then spent nearly three months in Mexico, destitute. He ate out of dumpsters, bathed in rivers, and slept outdoors. In June 2007, while Guzman was still in Mexico, his family filed a lawsuit to attempt to force the US government to aid in their search for him. The suit was unsuccessful and Guzman's mother, Maria Carbajal, proceeded to search for him herself. She traveled to Tijuana and spent several days in the area looking for him, cooking for workers in a banana warehouse in exchange for shelter in a back room there. He tried to cross the US-Mexico border several times, but was turned away each time. Guzman was eventually found near the Calexico, California border crossing in August 2007 and reunited with his family.

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