Illegal immigrant who brutally murdered Michigan woman SUES Trump and demands $75 million, an apology and US citizenship

A British-born man who has lived in the United States since the age of nine has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and faces potential deportation. Connor Read, 29, was apprehended by ICE agents on June 3, 2026, during a scheduled green card interview in Tampa, Florida. He was separated from his wife, Jaelin, 25, and their three-year-old twin sons, Ryder and Ozzie. Read, originally from Chatham, Kent, moved to the U.S. in 2007 as a child with his mother and stepfather. He attended American schools and returned to the UK only once. Read was initially placed under deportation proceedings in 2011 but was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status at the age of 16. DACA provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization for eligible individuals who arrived in the U.S. as children. However, Read reportedly accumulated minor criminal convictions, including possession of narcotic equipment, possession of liquor, and resisting an officer. These offenses led to his designation as a “criminal illegal alien” under the Trump administration. At age 22, he was denied renewal of his DACA status due to these charges. Read met Jaelin on a dating app in 2020, when his immigration status was uncertain. The couple attempted to apply for a green card. On June 3, Read was invited to a green card meeting at the federal immigration office in Tampa. During the interview, four ICE agents arrested him and removed him from the building. Immigration officials informed Jaelin that her husband would not return home. Read was transported to Pinellas County Jail in Florida, where he spent eight days in a shared cell before being transferred to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. He is currently appealing his final removal order, though he has been told a decision could take up to six months. An ICE spokesperson confirmed Read’s arrest, stating he was identified as a “criminal illegal alien” from the United Kingdom. His criminal record included possession of narcotic equipment, possession of liquor, and resisting an officer. According to ICE, Read entered the U.S. on November 21, 2007, via the Orlando International Airport on an F-2 visa as a dependent of an F-1 non-immigrant student. His status was tied to his parents’ student visas, and following a violation of visa terms, he was placed into removal proceedings. Under the Trump administration, ICE prioritized cases involving criminal activity, with nearly 70% of arrests targeting individuals with criminal records. Separately, a different case involving an illegal immigrant has sparked legal action against former President Donald Trump. Brandon Ortiz-Vite, a 27-year-old Mexican national, is serving a sentence of 39 to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering his girlfriend, Ruby Garcia, in March 2024. Ortiz-Vite shot Garcia multiple times in the head and pushed her from a vehicle on Highway US 131 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Days later, Trump, whose campaign focused heavily on combating illegal immigration, held a rally in the same city and referred to Ortiz-Vite as “America’s problem.” The president also featured Ortiz-Vite’s mugshot in campaign advertisements. Ortiz-Vite, who entered the U.S. illegally as a child, was granted DACA status until May 10, 2019. He remained in the country beyond his DACA expiration and was deported in 2020 after being arrested for drunk driving. It is unclear when he reentered the U.S. Ortiz-Vite filed a lawsuit against Trump and White House communications director Steven Cheung, demanding $75.5 million in punitive damages, a public apology, and U.S. citizenship. He claims the publicity surrounding his case caused severe emotional distress and influenced his decision to plead guilty. Ortiz-Vite represents himself from his cell at the Chippewa Correctional Facility and argues that Trump’s focus on his case contributed to his legal predicament. Legal experts suggest the case is unlikely to succeed due to procedural hurdles and limitations on presidential liability.