Where is Pedro Guzman?

Nobody knows, including Pedro himself, at last word. While he was in jail for a misdemeanor trespassing violation, the 29-year-old Los Angeles-born man from Lancaster CA was mistakenly identified as a non-citizen, and turned over to Homeland Security for deportation in April. In mid-May, he called a relative, probably from Tijuana, but he wasn't sure. No word since then.

This week, his family filed suit against the LA County sheriff's department and the Department of Homeland Security. "My worst fear is that he is no longer living," explained Guzman's brother Michael. "He doesn't know how to read. He often can't remember his family phone number. He even gets lost if he gets off the main street in Lancaster." Michael Guzman confirmed that his brother attended special education classes before he dropped out of school; he speaks English and Spanish, but is unable to read in either language.

Pedro Guzman is an American citizen, a disabled man, abandoned by US government officials, alone in an unfamiliar place, after a misdemeanor trespassing violation. They could have looked up his birth certificate, or called his family, but nobody bothered. Now, nobody knows where he is. Or if he's even still alive.

At left above, a photo of Pedro Guzman, as shown at this local news website.

UPDATE (7 August): Pedro Guzman turned up alive in early August.