Edmonton-born man, 40, deported to Canada after 9 months in ICE detention

Curtis Wright, a 40-year-old man born in Edmonton who spent most of his life in the United States, has returned to Canada after losing a legal battle to stay in the country to raise his two sons, ages 8 and 11. Wright, who moved to Houston as a youth and worked in the oil and gas industry, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in November after returning from a work trip to Mexico, when agents flagged a drug possession conviction from when he was 17.

Wright said he spent roughly nine months in ICE custody, including time at the South Texas ICE Processing Centre, describing freezing intake cells, poor food and dirty showers, and detainees being addressed by dorm and bunk numbers instead of names. ICE disputed the characterization, with a spokesperson saying detainees receive proper meals, water, hygiene facilities and recreation, and that the agency has no tolerance for abuse or misconduct.

Wright was issued a removal order in February and initially appealed, but dropped the fight in July after learning the process could take months longer. He was sent back to Canada roughly two weeks ago from Kelowna, B.C., where he gave the interview, while his sons remain in Texas. He said he blames the Trump administration's expanded deportation push, noting his old conviction had not affected his life in the U.S. for nearly 30 years.

U.S. immigration arrests fell between January and May, but the administration has said it aims to remove one million people this fiscal year, up from about 442,000 last year. Wright said his case illustrates how deportations affect not just immigrants but the American families left behind, including his own children.