UK Hairdresser in Florida Says He Was Detained by ICE for Looking Mexican

Lee Stinton, a 45-year-old hairdresser from Lisburn, in the county of Antrim, in Northern Ireland, says that he was arrested by an American immigration officer and customs application (ICE) on a street in Florida, said: “You look Mexican” and detained for about a month in the Krome detention center before being expelled in the United Kingdom “
Nowsweek Sent by email to the Ministry of Internal Security for Comments and Contacted Stinton via its Instagram account for more information.

Lee Stinton / Instagram
Why it matters
The allegations of Stinton – that an ice officer used his appearance as a base of detention, that he endured overcrowded conditions and medical care limited to Krome, and that the British consulate was not quickly contacted – illustrated the wider concerns which accompanied an application of intensified immigration since the President Donald Trump is returned to the White House.
Ice has published large -scale operations in Florida; In May, the agency described an operation of one week which, she said, led to more than 1,100 arrests and underlined the emphasis on criminal offenses.
What to know
Stinton account, as indicated in an interview with the Belfast TelegraphRaise questions about racial profiling, prisoners’ conditions and consular access in the midst of exploited interior immigration by the federal authorities.
“I had one of the most unfair and cruel experiences under the regime of President Trump, and that changed me forever,” he wrote in an article on Instagram sharing the Telegraph interview.
Stinton said to Belfast Telegraph That while he was “on the way to work one day”, an ice officer said to him: “You look Mexican”. He said that he told the police that he was “from Northern Ireland” and that, while being chained, he managed to call his partner.
“The man who stops looking at my phone,” said Stinton. “My screen saver is a photo of my partner and I said:” He looks Haitian. It could be a two agreement for one today. “”
The Northern Ireland newspaper reported that Stinton worked as a hairdresser in Key West, had a partner, Devaun Davis, an American citizen, and had planned to get married. Stinton told the newspaper that he believed that he had the legal right to stay in the United States and that he had continued the regularization of his status. He said he had no criminal record and compared the experience to his “kidnapped street”.
Stinton said he was taken to the Krome detention center near Miami where he was held in a concrete cell which he described as designed for around 10 people, but containing more than 100, with limited food, access to the shower and a refusal of medication for certain prisoners.
He said he had witnessed a man “begging days for his heart medication. He literally fell dead from a heart attack before my eyes. They did not give him the medication he needed.”
Stinton has also described the medical procedures which, according to him, were carried out without his consent to eliminate the underclusted piercings when he was chained to a bed.
THE Belfast Telegraph Said Stinton was awarded a “blue” held uniform denoting a weak guard, alleged delays in consular contact, and said that he had been expelled in London and left without arrangements in progress. The article said that he arrived in Northern Ireland on July 12.
Look at the interview with Stinton below::
Horrors of the Trump detention center: Lisburn Man tells his story after his arrest for “ resembling a Mexican ” ‘
Lee Stinton was lifted by US immigration police on an American street – in an incident he compared to an abduction.
Here he tells us his story. pic.twitter.com/vmzofocgro
– Belfast Telegraph (@Beltel) September 10, 2025
What people say
Lee Stinton said to Belfast Telegraph:: “I have never even had so much parking. I have no criminal record. I have never done anything wrong. I did everything that the American government asked me.”
What happens next
Stinton said to Belfast Telegraph He receives therapy for post-traumatic stress and returned to part-time hairstyle in Lisburn.




