English migrant Dale Heath and his family in Colorado will find out his fate as a United States citizen during his final immigration hearing on September 3.
His wife, Kelli Heath, told Newsweek that the last three weeks have been full of chaos and “lots of tears.”
Why It Matters
Dale Heath arrived in the United States from England in 1991 at age 8, more than 30 years ago, moving around different states before meeting Kelli and settling in Castle Rock, Colorado.
On August 4, he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, during a routine green-card appointment, involving marijuana possession charges stemming from when he was 17 and 18 years old.
He has had a green card, meaning he was a lawful permanent resident in the U.S., since he arrived. After his card was flagged in 2022, renewing his citizenship has required visits to Denver International Airport. His most recent attempt at renewal this month landed him in an ICE detention center in Aurora, where he’s spent more than three weeks in what his wife describes as below-average conditions while living among violent offenders.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Newsweek on Tuesday regarding Dale’s case: “A green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) presenting at a U.S. port of entry with criminal convictions may be found inadmissible, placed in removal proceedings, and subject to mandatory detention.”
What To Know
Heath, formerly an executive chef, owns and operates Castle Rock Carpet Care with his wife. He lived in Texas, Florida and New Jersey before reaching Colorado.
Kelli, who described her husband as “an all-American man,” told Newsweek that her husband’s immigration concerns began in 2022, when the couple returned from a 10-year wedding anniversary trip to Costa Rica that required a layover in Houston.
While Kelli was able to swiftly get through security with her passport, Dale was taken into a room by federal authorities and questioned for more than four hours. Officials let Dale board a plane home but revoked his green card in exchange for a temporary card that still proved citizenship but required more routine appointments for renewal.
As a result of Dale’s situation, the couple hasn’t traveled out of the country since.
His detention stems from two arrests in 2001 on marijuana possession of less than 2 ounces, both in Texas, including once before he was considered an adult. Court records show he pleaded no contest in both cases and served probation and short confinement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Newsweek that Heath had been found inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act because of a controlled substance violation.
“During his interaction with CBP, Heath attempted to flee after being served a Notice to Appear (NTA) for immigration court,” they said. “CBP officers swiftly apprehended Heath, who was subsequently transferred to ICE custody. CBP remains committed to enforcing immigration laws in strict accordance with federal statutes and policies. Heath’s case is now under the jurisdiction of the immigration court system, where he remains in custody pending further proceedings.”
Kelli said the reason for her husband’s arrest, decades after a low-level crime he dealt with and put in his rearview, is unnerving.
“When [Dale] had called me [from his detention center], he of course was crying. I cried,” she said. “There were lots of tears because it was something that we always joked about but never really thought that it would seriously happen. And the reason for that is because the crime that they are focused on happened so long ago and not only did it happen so long ago, but he took care of it at that time. They gave him probation and he did time served.
“He’s renewed his green card multiple times. He’s had major security background checks. He has gone in and out of the country multiple times since that situation happened and it never came up. And so for it to come up this time just seemed really weird, and then for it to escalate to this was very much a shock.”
She added: “I’m sorry but a lot of 17- and 18-year-olds make mistakes and don’t really think about the law at that point.”
Their family, which includes 12-year-old Zoe and 9-year-old Oliver, has been reeling but has benefited from a close-knit community and trusted friends who have helped Kelli navigate the chaos of the situation—including sleepovers for her children while she deals with running their business, paying bills and communicating with legal counsel.
“I navigate it day by day, that’s literally all I can do,” Kelli said. “The night before I sit down and I look at our schedules, I’m like, ‘Alright, you have therapy at this time. You have soccer practice at this time, you have to be at the dance studio at this time. OK, everybody’s done at this time.’
“I mean, I never thought that I would have to try to be a single mom. Never. That was never something that crossed my mind in my entire life, and I am trying my hardest to keep things together. It’s not easy, though. I have had depression in the past and having this huge life-altering event come back into light obviously is not helping that. I’m exhausted, mentally, physically. I literally have a hard time focusing on things….Just the thought or the idea of having to get up and do something is exhausting.”
The immigration hearing set for September 3 could upend not just Dale’s life in the United States but the rest of his family’s.
Kelli worries about Dale, whom she said was bullied growing up in places like Texas due to being an “English boy with a Jersey accent.” She’s also unsure of what steps will have to be taken by her and her children, who just restarted year, should Dale be deported.
“It’s something that I don’t want to think about,” she said. “Obviously, as a parent I do, but I don’t want to think about it because I don’t want to tear my kids’ lives upside down. I know from what my husband has told me when he was torn from England to come to the states, it was not an easy path for him….I don’t want my kids to go through that. Life is hard enough as it is with what they already know in life.
“But to have to go somewhere where they literally know nobody…and honestly, I don’t know if my mental health could manage that and go through that just because my entire life is here….To have to think about tearing my kids away from all of that is something that is going to be extremely mentally difficult to get through.”
The post Wife of Green-Card Holder Detained by ICE Speaks Out—’Lots of Tears’ appeared first on Newsweek.
