U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month arrested a Great Falls man with British citizenship who has lived in Montana for 11 years and is expecting a child with his fiancée.
A federal judge has barred ICE from transferring the man, 26-year-old Dakota Wheeler, out of Montana, at least temporarily. The immigration agency is challenging the order.
On Nov. 5, ICE agents arrested Wheeler at a downtown senior living home where he worked. The agency stated that Wheeler overstayed a 90-day visa waiver that was granted in 2015.
The Daily Montanan was first to report Wheeler’s arrest. The outlet detailed Wheeler’s attempts to gain citizenship since first coming to the United States as a teenager with his mother. The story said Wheeler couldn’t afford the $10,000 required to complete the process. Wheeler’s mother previously received lawful permanent resident status, according to court documents.
Wheeler has been in custody at the Cascade County Detention Center and was still listed on the roster on Friday. On Nov. 14, Wheeler petitioned a U.S. District Court judge in Great Falls to block ICE from removing him from the country. He said in the petition that his fiancée, a U.S. resident, is 22 weeks pregnant and needs his support.
Judge Brian Morris granted that request on the same day. The order states that ICE is prohibited from moving Wheeler and must provide two weeks’ notice before transferring him from the county jail or removing him from Montana.
ICE has asked Judge Morris to dismiss his order, arguing that he didn’t have the jurisdiction to block the immigration agency’s actions.
In a responding court brief, Wheeler’s attorney, Nathan Ellis of Helena, wrote that Wheeler has built “substantial ties” over 11 years in Great Falls and has endured trauma from a former romantic partner who intimidated him with threats of deportation.
“He has also shown the possibility of irreparable injury if removed, including separation from his pregnant partner, loss of access to counsel and re-traumatization based on his history of victimization,” Wheeler’s attorney wrote in the brief.
Wheeler has no serious criminal history. Court records cited by ICE indicate that Wheeler pleaded guilty in March to driving without a license. In October, one of Wheeler’s co-workers told Great Falls police that Wheeler threatened to harm them if the co-worker reported Wheeler to ICE, according to the agency’s court filings.
A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 10 to determine if ICE can carry out Wheeler’s removal from the country.
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