An Associated Press investigation says immigration authorities have detained Phillip James since January while seeking to deport him to Jamaica, despite documents his mother and lawyers cite to support his claim that he was born in Florida. James is a 39-year-old diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The investigation by AP reporter Ryan J. Foley was published October 26, 2026. The reported detention timeline is the investigation's account. James is also known as Felibi Siagha-Coke, according to legal filings.
He is held at the Miami Detention Center in Bunker Hill, Indiana, a facility operated through a state-federal partnership. Some call it the “Speedway Slammer.” His case remains active in immigration and federal court.
His lawyers are challenging an immigration judge's order directing his deportation to Jamaica. The Bronx Defenders also filed a federal petition seeking his immediate release, arguing his continued detention is unlawful. A federal judge has indicated he could soon rule on that petition.
Civil immigration enforcement does not authorize detention of citizens
The central dispute is whether James is a U.S. citizen. His lawyers point to a Florida birth certificate and a 1988 court record establishing his paternity. The Associated Press review found documents supporting his family's account of his Florida birth.
The Department of Homeland Security disputes his citizenship and alleges the birth certificate he used to obtain a U.S. passport was fraudulent. James held that passport for 15 years. Immigration authorities relied on his account that he was born in Jamaica and entered the United States illegally in 2009.
Civil immigration enforcement authority does not extend to citizens. A Senate resolution introduced in the 119th Congress, 119 SRES 341 IS, dated 2025-07-29, states that immigration officers under the Department of Homeland Security cannot arrest, detain, interrogate or deport citizens as part of civil enforcement.
The resolution also quotes internal guidance, Policy Number 10074.2, which says the agency cannot use its civil immigration authority to arrest or detain a citizen. The resolution is a Senate measure, not a court ruling.
Medical assessments challenge the account used in the removal case
Medical reports filed in court describe James's insistence that he was born in Jamaica as a delusion associated with paranoid schizophrenia. He has also claimed to be the illegitimate son of a former Jamaican prime minister and a descendant of a royal family in Lebanon, where he says he holds citizenship.
One psychologist assessed that James was not “a reliable historian due to the serious nature of his mental illness, including a deeply entrenched delusional belief system.” The evaluations bear directly on the account immigration authorities used in the removal case.
Northwestern University professor Jacqueline Stevens has studied wrongful detention of citizens for two decades. She said she was familiar with other cases in which mental illness and disabilities played a role, and was not surprised authorities would rely on James's claim of foreign birth.
“What's going on in these cases is that evidence that's consistent with deportation is treated as accurate and evidence that is inconsistent is treated as fraudulent,” Stevens said. “This case is not a one-off. This is a feature, not a bug, of how ICE handles claims of U.S. citizenship.”
The Department of Homeland Security denies detaining citizens and says people in removal proceedings receive due process. Stevens's criticism addresses how officials weigh evidence; the department's position is that its proceedings provide due process.
The deportation appeal and release petition are both pending
James's removal order is being appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The separate federal petition asks a judge to order his release from custody. The two proceedings challenge different parts of the case.
Immigration lawyers say improper detention of a citizen usually lasts hours or days when officers mistake identities or cannot promptly verify citizenship. A detention approaching 10 months would be rare, they say, but not unprecedented. Their assessment is conditional on the citizenship dispute being resolved in James's favor.
Court records remain difficult to access
Documents detailing James's citizenship claim were not available in the federal court system's online database, alongside thousands of records involving immigration detainees. The Associated Press, assisted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, has sued to overturn a policy restricting public access to such documents.
A volunteer with Habeas Dockets, a nonprofit that works to make records available, traveled to an Indiana courthouse to copy the files. A Senate resolution also cites reports involving citizens, including children, veterans and disabled individuals, who were arrested, detained or questioned by immigration officers despite the stated legal restriction.
The appeal remains before the Board of Immigration Appeals, while the federal judge may rule on the release petition. This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
