Edmonton-born father returns to Canada after 9 months in U.S. ICE detention

Curtis Wright, a 40-year-old Edmonton-born father, has returned to Canada after a nearly 10-month ordeal in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. Wright lost a legal battle to remain in the United States, where he has lived most of his life and raised his two young sons.

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Can it be done from a different country? Sure, but that’s going to be holidays and summers.

Wright was taken into custody about 10 months ago after an old drug possession conviction from when he was 17 resurfaced during a work trip to Mexico. He had held a green card for decades and worked in the oil and gas industry. He believes former President Donald Trump's focus on deportation contributed to his detention, despite his life in the U.S. not being an issue for nearly 30 years.

He described the conditions in Texas detention facilities as terrible, with freezing cold intake cells and dirty showers. Detainees were referred to by numbers, not names. "Some people would say that, 'Well, look where you are, maybe that's what you should expect.' And I say, well, we're still humans," Wright stated.

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Some people would say that, 'Well, look where you are, maybe that's what you should expect.' And I say, well, we're still humans.

Wright's sons, aged eight and 11, remain in Texas. He expressed his desire to be present in their lives, acknowledging that co-parenting from another country would mean missing holidays and summers. He was returned to Canada from the South Texas ICE Processing Centre just over two weeks ago.

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I've been removed for a mistake I made 22 years ago, when I was a 17-year-old kid in high school. And now two American children are going to be left without their father.