US man dumped in Mexico

A mentally disabled United States citizen who spoke no Spanish was deported to Mexico with little but a prison jumpsuit after immigration agents manipulated him into signing documents allowing his removal, a lawsuit filed yesterday alleges. His lawyers say the agents ignored records showing his federal Social Security identification number.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta by the American Civil Liberties Union seeks damages from the federal Government and people ranging from Obama Administration officials to immigration agents.

It also asks for a jury trial. Mark Lyttle was serving prison time in North Carolina for a misdemeanor offence in 2008 when prison officials say he gave Mexico as his place of birth, drawing the attention of immigration agents.

His lawyers acknowledge he eventually signed papers allowing his deportation, but argue he was too mentally disabled to understand what he was doing. He spent four months in Central America before his family helped him return.