HALLSVILLE, Texas — A state lawmaker is calling on people to reach out to their elected officials and leaders to help East Texas native Caden Hawkins, who is allegedly getting extorted while being held in Mexico.

State Rep. Jay Dean wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend that Caden Hawkins, 22, a Hallsville native, is being held "as a cash asset for a corrupt federal judge in Juarez, Mexico." Dean says his family has been forced to pay $1,000 a week so that Hawkins can have hot water, toilet paper and some protection from violent inmates.

"This is absolutely unacceptable and we need to ban together and force our federal government to BRING CADEN HOME," Dean said.

Dean says Hawkins was detained while returning home after working on oil field location. His GPS misdirected him to go acr

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