ICE has imprisoned a Danish father of four due to a “paperwork miscommunication,” his American wife said.
Kasper Juul Eriksen, a 32-year-old welder legally in the country with a fifth child on the way, was detained by ICE during a citizenship appointment on April 15 because of a decade-old “paperwork miscommunication,” his wife said.
Savanah Eriksen said they were blindsided when they arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, at what they believed would be a routine interview in the “final stage of obtaining his permanent American citizenship.”
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After driving three hours north from their home in Sturgis, Mississippi, Savannah said her husband was confronted by ICE agents who took him into custody and explained there was a paperwork error dating back to 2015. He was then taken to an ICE detention facility in rural Jena, Louisiana, where he remains today.
Verite News wrote that detainees at the privately run facility have observed rodent droppings on kitchen surfaces and human excrement in a shower area, and have alleged that prolonged isolation led to medical and mental health issues.
Savannah, who is due in August and said she has a “high-risk pregnancy,” criticized officials for how they handled Eriksen’s case.
“What could have been corrected with paperwork has resulted in a month-long detention of my husband and a devastating situation for our children and myself, as well as my high-risk pregnancy,” she said in a statement.
ICE did not respond to a request for information about Eriksen’s case.
Savannah told Mississippi Today that her husband’s “move toward citizenship appeared to be on track” with no red flags from ICE. The Daily Beast could not find any criminal record for Eriksen, including speeding tickets, which have been used as justification to arrest and deport some immigrants and visa holders since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. She declined an interview with the Daily Beast but shared photos of her and Eriksen.
Savannah told the news site that she was forced to drive back from the citizenship appointment alone, not knowing where her husband was being taken or why.
“To say I couldn’t control my emotions would be an understatement,” she said. “The next 24 hours would, without a doubt, be the most frightening and stressful I have ever experienced, as I pined for my husband and some kind of communication to confirm his safety and whereabouts.”
Savannah said attorneys filed a petition to seek Eriksen’s release, and they met with him on May 15 to review that document. It will be up to a judge to decide whether he can return home to his family. Savannah told Mississippi Today he does not have a court date.
Eriksen first came to the U.S. in 2009 as a foreign exchange student at Starkville High School, where he met Savannah. The then-teenagers started dating and continued their relationship even after Eriksen had to return to his home country. She said they would fly across the Atlantic Ocean to visit each other.
Savannah said they eventually married, and Eriksen immigrated to the U.S. in 2013 with a green card. He began working as a welder in their tiny Mississippi town, which had a population of 202 as of 2022. She said he is still a welder and is “building our family home with his bare hands.”
In a GoFundMe campaign, which had raised $17,000 by Wednesday morning, Savannah said Eriksen’s income sustained their entire family. She said she homeschools their children and that they raise animals on a ranch. His Facebook page suggests he also has an affinity for hunting and Mississippi State University football, and opposed vaccine mandates in 2021.
Savannah said she is working with elected officials to help get Eriksen home. She posts regular updates on social media, asking those in the community to pray for his release and, if willing, to write letters attesting to his character.
Savannah said of her husband on GoFundMe, “Kasper is a loving husband, devoted father, proud land owner in the U.S.A., pays taxes, and has a valid driver’s license, SSN, and came here legally on a green card in 2013 when we were married. He is a valued, loved, and well-respected man in our community.”
