Fabian Schmidt, a 34-year-old German national and Nashua resident, has been in ICE custody since March 11. Courtesy photo

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. – Fabian Schmidt, a 34-year-old German national and Nashua resident, is still being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I.

He is expected to remain there until his June court date in Boston.

Schmidt’s mother, Astrid Senior of Lyndeborough, said her son arrived back at Logan International Airport on March 7 after a seven-day trip to visit friends and family in Luxembourg.

Schmidt’s partner, Bhavani Hodgkins, was supposed to pick him up at the airport and alerted the authorities when he was nowhere to be found.

Despite having a Green Card, Schmidt had been arrested by officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and allegedly endured a brutal interrogation. During that time, he was stripped naked and put in a cold shower. Schmidt was also reportedly suffering from influenza B and a heart condition.

“His perfectly valid Green Card had been tagged because he had failed to attend a hearing for which he had never received an invitation,” said Senior. “It was sent to an address where he was no longer living. To compound this error, he had just recently been provided with a new replacement Green Card since he had lost the original one. Even then, U.S. Immigration failed to let him know that there was an outstanding hearing which he had missed and that his card would be tagged.”

Schmidt was able to call his mother on March 11 after being transferred to the Wyatt Detention Center. However, she has not heard from him since then.

Both Schmidt and Senior moved to the U.S. from Germany in 2007 and have held Green Cards since 2008. In addition, Schmidt’s legal residency was renewed last year.

In 2015 and 2016, Schmidt, while living in California, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, hunting without a license and failure to appear for jail.

However, while meeting with reporters, Attorney David Keller, counsel for Schmidt, said the California matters have all been “resolved.”

“This is clearly a disgrace, there were unnecessary interrogation tactics imposed and without disclosing any of my personal conversations with my client, it broke him to the point where, medically speaking, he needed to be transported to the hospital,” said Keller. “There haven’t been any official charges pressed against Mr. Schmidt regarding his status. He is a lawful, permanent resident. Imagine yourself being charged with a crime and not even knowing what the crime is. That’s essentially his situation.”

Keller also said this is not an isolated incident.

“This is a trend we’re seeing — people with lawful status being stopped at our borders and mistreated,” he said. “What we’re doing about that needs to be vocalized and brought to our political leaders. To be stopped at the border like this — in Boston of all places — I think is very tragic.”

U.S. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) has been monitoring the situation very closely.

“I’ve been very disturbed by the reports that I’ve read about this case,” she said. “We have been in close communication with Fabian Schmidt’s family and we are trying to work to get as much information as we can and to support in every way that we can.”

CBP spokesperson Hilton Beckham denied any wrongdoing on behalf of her agency.

“These claims are blatantly false with respect to CBP,” she said. “When an individual is found with drug related charges and tries to reenter the country, officers will take proper action.”