British-born man who lived in US since age nine held by ICE, facing deportation

Connor Read, 29, a British-born man who has lived in the United States since he was nine years old, has been held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility for more than six weeks under threat of deportation, according to reports.

Read was taken into custody by ICE agents on June 3 after he was invited to a green card interview in Tampa, Florida. He was separated from his wife, Jaelin, 25, and their three-year-old twin sons, Ryder and Ozzie. Originally from Chatham, Kent, Read was brought to the US in 2007 by his mother and stepfather. He attended American schools and only returned to the UK once.

In 2011, a removal order was issued against him, but at age 16 he was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, which provides deportation relief and work permits for eligible individuals who were brought to the US as children. However, while under DACA protection, Read committed minor offenses, including convictions for possession of narcotic equipment, possession of liquor, and resisting an officer. These offenses led to him being deemed a “criminal illegal alien” by the Trump administration.

Because of the narcotic charge, Read was unable to renew his DACA status at age 22. He met Jaelin on a dating app in 2020 when his immigration status was already unsettled. After marrying, the couple attempted to apply for a green card. On June 3, Read attended a green card meeting at the federal immigration building in Tampa. In the interview room, four ICE agents arrested him and removed him from the building. Immigration officials told Jaelin that her husband would not be coming home.

Read was taken to Pinellas County Jail in Florida, where he spent eight days in a shared cell, and was later flown to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. He is appealing his final removal order but has been warned that a decision may not come for up to six months.

An ICE spokesperson stated: “Connor Michael Read, a criminal illegal alien of the United Kingdom, was arrested on 3 June 2026 by ICE law enforcement in Tampa, Florida. His criminal history includes convictions for possession of narcotic equipment, possession of liquor and resisting an officer. He was issued a final order of removal by an Orlando, Florida immigration judge in January 2011. Read entered the United States on 21 November 2007 through Orlando International Airport as a non-immigrant with an F-2 visa, as a dependent of an F-1 student. After a violation of the terms of their visa, Read was placed into removal proceedings.”