A Great Falls family is in turmoil after a British citizen was arrested by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, the second such incident recorded in north-central Montana in recent weeks.
Dakota Wheeler, a 26-year-old United Kingdom national, has resided in Montana for more than a decade and works at Rainbow Senior Living in Great Falls.
Quentin Shores talks with Paige McAtee about the case - watch:
Wheeler was detained by ICE and Homeland Security authorities in early November, an act that his family claims occurred without reason.
“When they took him, they didn't identify themselves. They wouldn't show a warrant. They just shoved guns in his face and put him in the car. They wouldn't even tell him what was going on,” said Paige McAtee, Wheeler’s fiancée.
McAtee claims that the event began when Wheeler's mother appeared at her house in a panic. "His mom was at my door, and she was just freaking out, telling me that Dakota was taken," she explained.
Unsure who had held him, McAtee says she contacted numerous agencies, including the Great Falls Police Department, the Cascade County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Marshals, but no one knew where Wheeler was.
It wasn't until later that McAtee received a phone call from Wheeler himself, coming from the Cascade County Detention Center.
He explained what had transpired and requested that she bring his passport and papers, which prove that McAtee is 25 weeks pregnant with their child.
“He's not being charged with anything; that just says Immigration M.E. So it's just a deportation that we're dealing with right now,” McAtee said. “And since he came here as a minor, he came here on a Visa waiver program.”
Wheeler arrived in the United States at the age of 15 with his mother on a 90-day visa. ICE and Homeland Security Investigations say that by overstaying his visa, Wheeler surrendered his right to challenge deportation.
However, Wheeler's family and counsel argue that he was too young at the time to consciously surrender those rights.
"It's insane because he's done nothing but be a good thing in this community," McAtee told me. “He works for elderly people. They all have been asking about him. They’ve been sharing his GoFundMe and donating money. It’s been heartbreaking for them, too—they say he’s like a grandson to them.”
According to his family, Wheeler has no criminal record other than a single traffic violation for driving without a license.
While they accept the Visa overstay, they claim that his age and lack of understanding at the time should be recognized, which they recently presented to a judge.
"So if we lose, then they deport him," McAtee explained. "But we haven't heard anything from the judge, and it's been almost a week now."
The family is currently trying to raise $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees, both those associated with the current case and a possible future immigration hearing if Wheeler is permitted to stay in the country.
