SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Idris Demirtas started to get nervous when he saw videos on social media of ICE making arrests in San Diego last year.
But the 25-year-old, who court records show was released on parole after making an asylum claim at the Texas border in 2022, said because he is married to a U.S. citizen, has no criminal record and a work permit that doesn’t expire until 2028, he hoped he would be left alone.
“I'm not the criminal,” he said in an interview with Team 10.
That hope faded when ICE agents showed up at his uncle’s home looking for him last November.
Expedited removal order
Demirtas, who ICE says entered the U.S. unlawfully and was issued an expedited removal order by the Border Patrol, wasn’t there.
The agency asked him to attend an 8 a.m. appointment at the ICE field office in downtown San Diego the next day.
When he arrived, masked agents were waiting and quickly escorted him to an elevator that led to a basement holding area in the federal building, where he says he spent 14 hours.
"I went to there with my lawyer and then I took to my old paperwork about my situation and then they just take me, like they didn't ask me anything," Demirtas, who is still learning English, said.
Mae Bovenzi cried out as her husband was escorted in handcuffs.
"I feel like my husband was kidnapped with a deadly weapon and there was no due process.”
Bovenzi said she fell in love with Demirtas after meeting him in Little Italy last year while he was working as a pedicab driver.
No criminal record
Team 10 searched state and federal court databases and found no criminal record for the Turkish national who spent the next 48 days in custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
While there, Demirtas said he met a restaurant owner and Uber drivers who were arrested while delivering food to military bases.
ICE agents encouraged him and other detainees to accept $1,000 stipends in exchange for agreeing to voluntary deportations, he said. The Department of Homeland Security calls the stipends an "exit bonus" that has since risen to $2,600.
"They told me … we are giving you like three options, your country Uganda or Kenya," Demirtas said.
He refused the offer.
Asylum claim dismissed without interview
In a court filing, he argued returning home would put him in danger because he is a member of the Alevi religious minority and fled Turkey due to threats and physical violence.
"It was so hard for me. That's why I wanted to come to the United States like I thought I can be safe here," Demirtas said.
Court records reviewed by Team 10 show immigration officials sent Demirtas a letter dismissing his asylum claim without an interview last year.
The move was part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to make migrants who entered the U.S. illegally deportable. It was significant because most asylum seekers are first given a "credible fear" interview to explain why they are afraid to return home.
While detained, Demirtas said he was forced to sleep on the floor for more than two weeks due to crowding. He also said the food at the facility made him sick.
"It tastes not good," Demirtas said.
ICE defends arrest
Bovenzi fought to secure her husband's release and visited him every Sunday. But the couple says what happened after those visits felt humiliating.
"After our visitation. They would give every detainee a full strip search, full strip search," Bovenzi said.
In January, Demirtas went before a judge and was released on bond.
When we asked why the Turkish national was arrested while he had a work permit, ICE defended his detention.
“A work permit does not convey any protected status, and the individual can still be arrested,” said Sandra Grisolia, an ICE spokeswoman, in a prepared statement.
Grisolia added capacity levels are not being exceeded inside facilities holding immigrants.
“We are currently under capacity at all of our detention centers,” she said.
CoreCivic, which operates the Otay Mesa Detention Center, said everyone is offered a bed and the facility provides three nutritious meals a day to detainees.
- Canadian woman put in chains, detained by ICE
- Detained German tourist says she spent week in solitary confinement
"Menus are reviewed and approved on a regular basis by a registered dietitian to ensure appropriate nutrition is provided," CoreCivic spokesman Brian Todd said.
Demirtas is now preparing to apply for a green card, which he hopes will protect him from being deported.
"Right now, I'm not feeling too safe here.”
