Mickel Mesa, a 28-year-old legal permanent resident of the United States, had not seen his family in the Dominican Republic for many years. So, in December 2013, he and his sister flew to the Caribbean nation. He said it was a week of “great food and fun” with people he had not seen since he was a teenager. He returned to the United States on December 29th. When he arrived at the airport in New Jersey, he did what all so-called “green card” holders must do. He asked the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, or CBP, for permission to re-enter the United States. He showed the officers his green card and passport. But he was not permitted to enter. The officers arrested him instead. In 2006, Mesa pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. That is a serious crime in New Jersey. He was sentenced to community service and five years of supervised freedom, called probation. He completed both long before he traveled to the Dominican Republic. But federal officers arrested him anyway.