Keith Acosta - Deportation Officer, ICE
Eloy, AZ 85131
Keith Acosta was one of my deportation officers while I was detained at the Eloy Detention Center (EDC) in Eloy, AZ, in 2008.
Acosta is the one who charged me criminally with perjury and false claim of US citizenship in June 2008 Criminal Complaint, 2008-06-06. Funny story about how that came about.
The Canadian Passport and Fingerprint Fiasco
The Canadian Passport
In March 2008, I indirectly told Acosta and my other Deportation Officer Robert Cordero, about a Canadian passport in my name and with my photo.
Once they obtained it, I informed them I had obtained it under fraudulent pretenses. They refused to believe me and insisted it was a legitimate passport and I was the person named on it. They then used that passport as the evidence to support their claim I was an alien.
On 2008-04-28, they submitted the passport to the Immigration Court as evidence of alienage Submission of Exhibits, 2008-04-28, Ex. 9. At the subsequent hearing, I informed the Immigration Judge I am not the person named on the passport TR 2008-05-05 p29l18-19. The judge asked DHS what evidence they have that I am actually the person named on the passport, namely whether they compared my fingerprints to the fingerprints of the person named on the passport, Ricky Riess. The ICE lawyer, Jennifer Wiles, claimed they had not had the opportunity to do that yet TR 2008-05-05 p30l1-2; p30l17-p31l3. The judge told them to do so, otherwise he would dismiss the case TR 2008-05-05 p31l19-p32l13.
Acosta Gets Ricky Riess's Fingerprints, Discovers I'm NOT Him
Later that same day, Acosta contacted the Toronto Police, who had arrested Ricky Riess in 1992 and had his fingerprints on file.
The Toronto Police sent Ricky Riess's mugshot and fingerprint information to Acosta Toronto Police booking record. They didn't match mine!
So, as of 2008-05-05, Acosta had received concrete proof from the Canadian authorities that I wasn't the person, a Canadian citizen, who he and Cordero had been insisting I was; who ICE had been detaining and trying to deport me as.
As of that point, Acosta knew ICE had been detaining me illegally for the past eight months.
Acosta Charges Me With Perjury and False Claim of US Citizenship
So Acosta's (and Cordero's) response to the revelation I'd been telling the truth all along and I'm not the person they were accusing me of being? Apologize and release me? Skip the apology and just release me? No! Charge me with perjury and false claim of US citizenship, for testifying in the Immigration Court that I was born in the US (which I was) and that I'm a US citizen (which I was).
And since that was a criminal, not an immigration matter, they handed me over to the US Marshals to be detained by them while I fought that case.
Having been transferred from ICE custody to Marshals' custody, Acosta ceased to be my Deportation Officer in June 2008.
Acosta was called as a witness for the prosecution at the perjury and false claim of US citizenship trial. Add the details of Acosta's testimony.
By the time I finished dealing with the perjury and false claim of US citizen case, Acosta had been transferred from the Eloy Detention Center and I would have no further dealings with him.
Like all ICE Deportation Officers, Keith Acosta was a smug, arrogant, prick, who was convinced neither he nor ICE could possibly be wrong about anything ever.