Schmidt, an electrical engineer, had been returning to the US on 7 March. His mother did not hear from him until 11 March, when he was transferred to hospital after collapsing. She told NBC news she had no idea why her son had been detained, saying: "I feel helpless, absolutely helpless." Schmidt and his mother moved to the US from Germany in 2007 and got permanent resident cards the following year. He renewed his legal permanent residence status last year and has no active legal issues, his mother said, although she added that he had faced misdemeanour charges about 10 years ago. ... The CBP sent the Guardian the same statement, without further explanation. The statement also said: "When an individual is found with drug-related charges and tries to reenter the country, officers will take proper action."
The case is the latest of a foreign-born national being detained and allegedly held in brutal conditions by US border agents, after Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.
The two other German nationals affected were Jessica Brsche, a 29-year-old tattoo artist from Berlin, and Lucas Sielaff, 25, from Saxony-Anhalt. Both had valid tourist visas for the US and have now returned to Germany.
According to Sielaff's fiancee, Lennon Tyler, he was detained for two weeks after incorrectly answering a question about where he lived owing to his poor grasp of English. Sielaff had said Las Vegas, where he was staying with Tyler, when he should have said Germany, where he permanently resides, she said.
Brsche " who was travelling with tattoo equipment " was detained for more than six weeks, including nine days in solitary confinement, her friends said " a claim the company that owns the detention centre denies.
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