FIRST SERBIAN TRUCK DRIVER DEPORTED FROM AMERICA! Consul Nikolić calls on families of the arrested to contact the Consulate in Chicago (PHOTO)

In recent days, a large number of Serbian citizens have been arrested in America, mostly truck drivers, who were stopped by immigration agents on highways and, after document checks, taken to detention centers located in several U.S. states.

According to information obtained by the editorial team of Serbian Times, and as immigration lawyer Filip Čičevaliev stated in an interview for our portal, among those detained are people who reside illegally in America, but also those who have valid work permits and are in the process of obtaining asylum or a green card, which has caused additional concern and fear among the Serbian diaspora in these areas.

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Wanting to check how the Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in Chicago is reacting to the arrests of our citizens, we called General Consul Marko Nikolić, who told us that so far three of our citizens currently in immigration detention have contacted them.

“Of these three, two were arrested in the latest immigration raids. One has already been deported, another is in detention, and the third has been awaiting extradition for a longer time. They have been transferred to immigration centers, and the Consulate is in contact with their families.”

When asked about the legal grounds for their arrest, Consul Nikolić could not give us a precise answer.

“We are helping as much as we can within our authority, which does not allow us to interfere in legal matters or in the work of American law enforcement agencies. We are in daily contact with the liaison officer of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the only thing we can convey are their words that a statement of voluntary deportation by the detainees speeds up the court process. And given the number of detainees, for now there is no precise information on how long these processes may take.”

He calls on those who have been arrested, their families, as well as anyone interested in obtaining information, to contact the Consulate.

“It would be good for people to contact us for our records. We cannot influence the internal process, but we are monitoring the number, status, and place of residence of our citizens. For more information about the detained, ICE has provided an online search tool through which families can find the centers where they are being held, at https://locator.ice.gov,” said at the end of the conversation the General Consul of Serbia in Chicago, Marko Nikolić.