Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Tech Style & Beauty Kitchen & Dining Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaWorldAn Edmonton-born man has spent the last four months in a U.S. ICE detention centre. He now faces deportation"It's been a challenge, not just for myself, but everyone involved. For my family, it's been one of the most difficult moments of my life"Last updated Mar 21, 2026 You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Curtis Wright, right, is pictured with his fiancee Kayla Thomsen in this undated photo. Wright has spent the last four months in a ICE detention centre in Texas, despite being a U.S. permanent resident for 30 years. Photo by Kayla Thomsen /SuppliedCurtis Wright used to start his mornings by waking up his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter and the first words he’d often hear were “Dada.”Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorFor the past four months, that has been replaced by phone calls from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in Texas since the Edmonton-born man has been separated from the life he’s built in the United States for the past three decades.Since his incarceration on Nov. 6, 2025, he’s missed his daughter’s first steps and missed precious time with his two older sons.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“It’s been a challenge, not just for myself, but everyone involved. For my family, it’s been one of the most difficult moments of my life,” said Wright in an interview with Postmedia earlier this month from the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas.“The most difficult part of this all is without a doubt being separated from my family. Being away from my fiancee and my children, and missing out on the milestones with them.“I’m missing so many milestones. Hearing these things, they warm your heart, but they break it at the same time.”The 39-year-old is a permanent resident of the United States and has held a green card for 25 years after having renewed it three different times with no issues.Wright works in the oil and gas industry and was coming back from a work trip from Mexico in November when he was pulled aside for a second screening and then was detained by ICE.ICE’s reasons for detaining him stem from drug-possession charges when he was 17. He was caught with Xanax, commonly used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.Wright has three misdemeanors on his criminal record — the drug possession, a gun possession and impaired driving charge. His drug possession charges were adjudicated and he was found not guilty of the gun possession charge and can’t face deportation from the impaired driving charge.“This is devastating for our family,” said Wright’s fiancee, Kayla Thomsen, in an interview with Postmedia from their home in Spring, Texas, 40 km north of Houston.“Our daughter carries around pictures of him around the house, and she cuddles them in the morning and when she goes to bed.“Every time the phone rings, she’s constantly saying Dada. That’s the only way she hears his voice now is through the phone.” A photo of Edmonton-born Curtis James Wright provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Wright remains in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration case. Photo by Supplied Photo/U.S. ImmigrationEarlier this week, Postmedia contacted a public affairs officer with U.S. Immigration, and was told Wright was denied entry because of his previous criminal history. United States Customs and Border Protection arrested him and turned him over to ICE, where he remains in custody pending the outcome of his immigration case.“A green card is a privilege, not a right. Under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused. In addition to immigration removal proceedings, lawful permanent residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention,” said a public affairs officer with U.S. Immigration in an emailed statement.Wright describes his detainment as an emotional roller coaster and it’s a “day-by-day grind.” He said it’s hard being pulled in so many different directions and being kept in the dark about when this will have a definite solution.His hearings with a judge continue to get cancelled or pushed ahead. His original court date was slated for last Dec. 3, but was pushed forward multiple times since then.Wright said ICE uses these tactics to try and break the will of those detained.“It’s designed this way, so you will give up, that you have enough and you sign voluntary deportation papers and just go home, so you don’t even get a shot to go through the court process,” said Wright.“I know guys that have been here for five to seven months and they haven’t even been to court. There’s guys (from different countries) in my dorm that have been here for two years.”Wright said that while many people are led to believe that U.S. President Donald Trump is pursuing these actions through ICE to remove tough hardened criminals off the streets, it’s simply not the case. Curtis Wright with his daughter pictured in this undated photo. Wright, who was born in Edmonton, has spent four months in an ICE detention centre in Texas, even though he’s lived in the United States for nearly 30 years. Photo by Kayla Thomsen /SuppliedWright said the the living conditions in these facilities is “downright awful.” He went 41 days without being given his colitis medicine. The facilities are dirty and they’re not getting fed proper portions of food.“As far as the treatment of people in here, I didn’t think this kind of stuff went on in America. I didn’t believe that the administration and the government of the United States would be as dishonest as they are. People in here aren’t gang members, or drug dealers, they’re not murderers, they’re not convicts, they’re just every day people, and it’s an eye-opener,” said Wright.Wright isn’t one to shy away from his past. For a good portion of his life, he was addicted to alcohol after being molested as a child. At the age of 15, he was drug raped and that ultimately led him down a dark path.He’s been sober for four years and, through his recovery, he’s owned his mistakes and looked at the positives in his life.“It’s what led to my charge when I was 17, but my life has been a lot of struggle and there’s been a lot of tough times, both mentally and emotionally. But I found a new way of life and ways to stay on the positive side of things,” said Wright.“The programs that I work with today, it’s taught me to accept my circumstances. I can take pity, anger and self-hatred, or I can just find ways to be strong for my family and maybe help some others along the way, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”Wright and his family have started a Go Fund Me to help pay for some of the legal costs that they’ve endured, but the majority of the funds have been set aside to help others that Wright has met while being detained.So far, he’s helped 13 people from all around the world that have been detained in the five different facilities he’s been locked up throughout Texas since November.“Throughout this experience, I get to hear good stories, like my buddy Ron from Nepal, who’s been in here for over two years. We were able to get him a phone call so he could talk to his daughter on her 15th birthday,” said Wright.“So many of these people have no support. They have no money, no way to call home to their families.“I’ve found a purpose in here, in a way to spend my time in a positive way, by helping the other men.Thomsen, the fiancee, said after Wright’s hearings with the judge continued to get pushed forward, he met with Judge Jennifer L. Mazza on March 13. She forfeited his trial date and said she is ordering him to be deported.Wright’s lawyer Matt Mendez informed Mazza that they will appeal the decision and, despite filing significant evidence that Wright is being illegally detained and shouldn’t be facing deportation, she denied the motion.“She forfeited his trial. She completely made her own ruling on a day that was not supposed to be a trial day,” said Thomsen.“He never got to his calendar hearing. We have a month to file the appeal, but we’re not going to file the appeal until the Habeas corpus request gets granted, because if we file the appeal without it, he risks being in there for a significant amount of time. Could be years.”A Habeas corpus is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual and request to bring the prisoner to court to determine whether their detention is lawful.Thomsen fears that if they don’t get the Habeas corpus in place within a couple of weeks, Wright will be deported and, while she and their daughter will move to Canada with him, he won’t be able to see his two sons, who he’s fought to gain 50-50 custody.“We’ve been waiting seven weeks. We’ve been patiently waiting for it to come through, and we’re not sure why it’s taking so long,” said Thomsen.“It’s the only way he can get out and he can fight this case.“He’s been gone for over four months now, and if he has to sit in there for another year, it’s not worth it for him to miss out on his daughter growing up, or being able to talk to his boys.” Curtis Wright and his family pictured in this undated photo. Wright, a Canadian born in Edmonton, spent months in ICE detention after being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Texas, even though he’s lived in the United States for nearly 30 years. Photo by Kayla Thomsen /SuppliedBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters.You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.