Lee Stinton, a 45-year-old hairdresser from Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, says he was stopped by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on a Florida street, told, “You look Mexican,” and subsequently detained for about a month at the Krome Detention Center before being deported to the U.K.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and contacted Stinton via his Instagram account for further details.
Why It Matters
Stinton’s allegations—that an ICE officer singled him out based on his appearance, that he endured overcrowded conditions and limited medical care at Krome, and that the British consulate was not contacted promptly—highlight broader concerns surrounding heightened immigration enforcement since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office.
ICE has publicized large-scale operations in Florida. In May, the agency described a weeklong operation that reportedly led to over 1,100 arrests, emphasizing a focus on criminal offenses.
What To Know
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Stinton shared a harrowing account that raises questions about racial profiling, detainee conditions, and consular access amid expanded interior immigration operations by federal authorities.
“I went through one of the most unjust and cruel experiences under President Trump’s regime, and it has changed me forever,” he wrote on Instagram, sharing the Telegraph interview.
According to Stinton, while he was “on my way to work one day,” an ICE officer told him, “You look Mexican.” Stinton said he responded that he was “from Northern Ireland” and, while shackled, managed to call his partner.
“The man who was arresting me looked at my phone,” Stinton said. “My screensaver is a picture of my partner and me. He said: ‘He looks Haitian. This might be a two-for-one deal today.'”
The Belfast Telegraph reported that Stinton had been working as a hairdresser in Key West, had a partner, DeVaun Davis, and planned to marry. He said he believed he had a legal right to remain in the U.S. and had been pursuing regularization of his status. Stinton added he had no criminal record and likened the experience to being “kidnapped off of the street.”
At Krome Detention Center near Miami, Stinton described being confined in a concrete cell intended for roughly 10 people but housing more than 100, with limited food, restricted shower access, and some detainees denied medication.
He recalled witnessing a man “begging for days for his heart medication. He literally dropped dead of a heart attack in front of my eyes. They didn’t give him the medication he needed.”
Stinton also claimed that medical procedures were performed on him without consent to remove subdermal piercings while he was shackled to a bed.
The Belfast Telegraph said Stinton was given a “blue” detainee uniform, which denotes low custody, and described delays in consular contact. He was deported to London without onward arrangements, arriving in Northern Ireland on July 12.
What People Are Saying
Lee Stinton told the Belfast Telegraph: “I never even had so much as a parking ticket. I have no criminal record. I have never done anything wrong. I was doing everything the U.S. government asked me.”
What Happens Next
Stinton said he is receiving therapy for post-traumatic stress and has returned to hairdressing part-time in Lisburn.
