A 39-year-old Canadian-born father of three has spent nearly four months in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after being detained at a Houston airport over a misdemeanor charge from when he was a teenager, a move his family says has left them “baffled” and devastated.
Curtis James Wright, a legal US permanent resident who has lived in the United States since childhood, was taken into custody on November 6 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport while returning from a business trip to Mexico.
According to local reports and a family fundraiser, authorities pulled him aside for secondary screening before informing his fiancée that he would be transferred to an ICE detention facility.
Wright is currently being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center, about an hour southwest of San Antonio.
Decades-old charge resurfaces
Family members say immigration officials cited a misdemeanor drug possession charge dating back 22 years to when Wright was 17.
His father, Jim Wright, told local media that the case was adjudicated at the time and that Curtis has since renewed his green card twice without issue.
“They’ve renewed his permanent residency multiple times over the last two decades,” Jim told CTV news, questioning why authorities are now challenging his status.
The family entered the US on visas in 1998 and became lawful permanent residents in 2001.
Since then, Curtis has built a life in Texas, earning a business degree and working in the oil and gas sector.
Jim also acknowledged his son’s past legal troubles, which included the teenage drug possession case involving a Xanax tablet, a misdemeanor firearms-related charge after a handgun registered to his wife was found in a vehicle he was driving, and an impaired driving arrest eight years ago.
According to his family, Wright has since given up alcohol and focused on his career and children.
“The Separation Has Been Miserable”
Speaking from detention, Wright described the toll of prolonged separation from his family. As reported by CTV News, he said, “None of it has been enjoyable. The separation from my family has been miserable.”
His fiancee, Kayla Thomsen, said their 18-month-old daughter asks for her father daily. “She wakes up every morning saying ‘da-da,’ because it would be him going to get her,” she told local media. “We’re all devastated.”
Wright is also father to two young sons from a previous marriage. His family fears deportation to Canada could jeopardize custody arrangements and force costly relocation.
Legal fight underway
Last month, Wright’s attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging his continued detention, arguing it violates his constitutional rights and that he is not a flight risk. The family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover mounting legal expenses.
In the fundraiser, relatives describe him as a devoted father who, even in detention, has tried to help fellow detainees by sharing supplies and teaching English — earning the nickname “professor.”
“Curtis tells us he is surrounded by fathers and workers, not ‘the worst of the worst,’” the fundraiser states.
An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to media requests for comment.
For now, Wright remains behind bars, awaiting his immigration hearing, as his family continues to fight for what they call his safe return home.
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