- Press Release
Lawsuit Filed After U.S. Embassy Presumes Innocent Man is a Gang Member and Separates Family Based on Tattoos
Washington DC, April 29 Tuesday -- The American Immigration Council and Consular Accountability Project filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a U.S. citizen whose husband was in the final stages of obtaining his green card when the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala presumed he was a gang member and failed to consider evidence proving his innocence. Neal & Harwell, PLC is local counsel on the case.
Daisy Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen and owner of a family restaurant in Sweetwater, Tennessee, has sued the U.S. State Department in the Eastern District of Tennessee, arguing the State Department violated the Constitution and government regulations when it determined her husband, Santos Maudilio Saucedo Rivas, was a member of the gang “Barrio Azteca” because of a tattoo with the letters “B.A.,” a reference to his nickname.
Ms. Rodriguez and her husband submitted sworn declarations from experts establishing that Barrio Azteca is comprised only of people with Mexican heritage (Mr. Saucedo Rivas is Guatemalan), that its members are recruited from within the prison system (Mr. Saucedo Rivas has never been to prison) and that its members are all connected to the El Paso, Texas region (Mr. Saucedo Rivas has never been to El Paso).
“The US Embassy intimidated and pre-judged Mr. Saucedo Rivas, telling him he looked like a criminal and refusing to seriously consider evidence proving his innocence,” said Eric Lee, president and executive director of the Consular Accountability Project. “Experts from law enforcement and academia submitted declarations stating it is factually impossible that a law-abiding Guatemalan man from Tennessee could belong to a gang comprised solely of Mexican individuals from Texas with long criminal records. This lawsuit aims to establish fairness and accountability over the legal pathway to lawful permanent residency.”
The facts of the case
Daisy Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen, and her husband, Santos Maudilio Saucedo Rivas, a citizen of Guatemala, married in 2017 and are restaurant owners in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Saucedo Rivas came to the United States in 2006, and in 2022 was in the final stages of becoming a legal permanent resident.
As part of that process, Saucedo Rivas left the United States to attend his scheduled visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City on December 8, 2022. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had granted him special permission to leave and re-enter the United States, after reviewing and approving a petition from his wife.
However, at the Embassy interview, consular officers insisted he was a member of a gang called Barrio Azteca, citing a tattoo. The Embassy then denied Saucedo Rivas’s visa; since then, he has remained abroad, unable to return home.
The Consular Accountability Project later submitted substantial evidence on Ms. Rodriguez’s behalf showing that the allegations had zero basis in fact. For example, Barrio Azteca gang members are all Mexican citizens or U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage, and all have ties to the region around El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Saucedo Rivas is Guatemalan and has no connections to Texas or Mexico; he has no violent crime or drug offenses on his record.
“My husband, Santos, my life partner of 14-plus years, has been wrongfully accused of being a ‘member of a criminal organization.’ We submitted hard evidence proving that he is not a gang member, that he is a good man, a great husband, and the heart of our family-owned restaurant, but this evidence was ignored,” said plaintiff Daisy Rodriguez. “The American people want legal migration, but we followed the legal process and never got a fair chance. All we ask is for the government to review the evidence we submitted proving his innocence, because when they do they’ll see they have made a terrible mistake.”
“The Embassy in Guatemala City must meaningfully review the evidence in Mr. Saucedo Rivas’s case and correct this injustice. Everyone deserves a fair process, especially when their future and family are on the line,” said Leslie Dellon, senior attorney at the American Immigration Council.
Related documents:
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