ICE Detainee Says He Was Born in Jamaica; AP Says It’s Found Docs Proving He’s a Citizen

ICE did get back to WTOP to let it know that Amaury Jose Monsalve Figuera is a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela who was arrested for firearms, ammunition, drug, and open-container offenses and whose green card was revoked following immigration fraud proceedings. His family didn't mention that to the reporter covering the story.

We've published a bunch of posts on Sunday night's sob story from 60 Minutes about the Mali man who was deported from the U.S. to Ghana, who then deported him to Mali, where he feared persecution for being gay, even though he was living in the U.S. with a wife and two children. As I reported earlier, the human rights lawyer 60 Minutes talked to says in her X bio that she's a "prison and border abolitionist" who is championing "internationalism, socialism, and freedom of movement" as well as "the end of U.S. imperialism everywhere."

I said this earlier, but always look out for qualifiers like "critics say" or "his family says" or " his lawyer claims." The Associated Press claims it did an investigation and found documents that support a lawyer's claims that his client is a U.S. citizen and not a Jamaican national.

Since January, ICE has detained and sought to deport a man to Jamaica. But an AP investigation has found documents that support claims by his lawyers that he's a U.S. citizen. https://t.co/y7bYQj5jCj

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 27, 2026

An AP investigation is worth about as much as a Washington Post analysis, but do go on:

For nearly a year, immigration authorities have detained and sought to deport a mentally ill man whose mother, lawyers and public records say was born in the United States and not Jamaica as he claims, a review by The Associated Press found.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no authority to detain U.S. citizens, but has long done so, usually for hours or days, when officers mistake identities or can’t immediately verify citizenship. Immigration lawyers say a nearly 10-month improper detention would be rare but not unprecedented.

…

Still locked up at ICE’s so-called Speedway Slammer in Indiana is Phillip James, a 39-year-old who also goes by the name Felibi Siagha-Coke, legal filings show. His lawyers are appealing an immigration judge’s ruling that he be deported to Jamaica, and a federal judge has indicated he could soon rule on a petition to free him from custody.

…

James’ insistence that he was born in Jamaica is a grand delusion, a symptom of paranoid schizophrenia with which he has been diagnosed, according to reports filed in court by medical experts who have recently assessed him. In particular, he claims that he is the illegitimate son of a former Jamaican prime minister and the descendant of a royal family in Lebanon, where he also claims citizenship despite a lack of evidence.

What does ICE have to say about this? The Associated Press doesn't say, but it did devote two sentences to a former ICE official, who said that mistakes are made.

Since the AP didn't contact ICE, ICE had to follow up with its own post:

FALSE: He is NOT a U.S. citizen. @ICEgov arrested Felibi Biladi Siagha-Coke on January 5. He is an illegal alien from Jamaica with previous convictions of assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, and insurance fraud. Siagha-Coke was previously issued a U.S. Passport based on a FRAUDULENT birth certificate that was revoked following an investigation, and his applications for a citizenship certificate have been denied multiple times. An immigration judge ordered Siagha-Coke removed from the United States on April 14 — he will remain in ICE custody pending removal and will continue to receive due process. Under @POTUS Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences.

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 27, 2026

The post continues:

… based on a FRAUDULENT birth certificate that was revoked following an investigation, and his applications for a citizenship certificate have been denied multiple times. An immigration judge ordered Siagha-Coke removed from the United States on April 14 — he will remain in ICE custody pending removal and will continue to receive due process. Under @POTUS Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences.

I like the proposed Community Note: "This man is not a U.S. citizen."

@AP A fraudulently-obtained US passport does not make someone a US citizen. Dude is an ILLEGAL ALIEN.

— Halo (@HaloTruthCat) October 27, 2026

AP lied for this guy: "He is an illegal alien from Jamaica with previous convictions of assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, and insurance fraud."

— Boyd Crowder (@TTNSSE) October 27, 2026

@AP Does the AP have ANY editorial standards at ALL?

— God's Whale Facts Decider Cow (@inane_gimmick) October 27, 2026

@AP If only there was an organization whose entire legislatively codified purpose was to know the facts about these individuals you could check with in your "reporting", but I guess that would be too easy, better just publish what the lawyer says.

— Cuyose (@Cuyose) October 27, 2026

@AP You do realize you are defending a man who was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence, don’t you? You virtue signal so hard that you are now openly defending people who are in this country illegally who have actively harmed someone.

— Just here for the truth (@Herefortruth87) October 27, 2026

@AP Why do you just make stuff up?

— DixieWoodsman (@dixiewoodsman) October 27, 2026

Yes, why? Why did investigative reporter Ryan J. Foley decide to investigate this case? Because the guy's lawyer called him and said, "Boy, do I have a story for you"?

@AP Try again, AP. You lose credibility by the minute. https://t.co/Rsobdf9um3

— LandOfHoy (@eileen_hoy69517) October 27, 2026

@AP Imagine if AP did this type of work for all actual citizens instead of illegals.

— Flying Gman (@flygriz) October 27, 2026

Imagine if reporters actually did their jobs without an agenda.

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