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U.S. border agents are still separating some families at the southern border, groups warn [1]
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Date: 2022-08-25
The letter from the ACLU-SDIC, Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS), and UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas describes in graphic detail the agent’s assault against Lucy, punching her in the face and stomach before throwing her to the ground and placing his knee into her back. “Lucy later received medical attention for the resulting injuries while in immigration custody,” a statement said.
It is a fact that border agents commonly get away with horrific abuses against asylum-seekers and migrants. There’s even been a secretive unit within CBP dedicated to shielding abusive agents that is thankfully being disbanded by the Biden administration this year. This specific incident is no different from those abuses, with officials pursuing charges against Lucy, and not the agent.
“Instead of holding the Border Patrol agent accountable for his assault against Lucy, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed criminal charges against her alleging that she—‘a 4-foot, 9-inch-tall woman weighing under 120 pounds—forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated and interfered with the armed male Border Patrol agent who assaulted her,” as well as pursued charges against a second son, who is also 18.
Even though the federal government decided to drop the charges, the family was not immediately reunited. Both Lucy and her 18-year-old were sent to the same Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility but were not allowed to see each other, “in contravention of ICE’s own detention standards.” The groups said Lucy was not told where any of her children were, including her 10-year-old daughter.
“For one period, I didn’t know where any of my children were. It was a feeling of hopelessness I cannot describe,” Lucy said. “At that point, I considered taking my own life. My children are everything to me, and their safety is all I care about—just as any mother can understand—which is why we escaped from El Salvador in the first place.”
JFS said that the family was released only after the organization filed applications. “At no point did CBP, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ICE, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or the DHS Family Reunification Taskforce intervene to reunite this family,” said JFS senior director of immigration services Kate Clark. She added that advocates are aware of 20 other families separated by border agents since President Biden was sworn into office.
The organizations ask the Biden administration to investigate and stop ongoing incidents of separation, and to hold accountable agents involved in assaulting Lucy. While the Supreme Court recently moved to shield agents from civil litigation, nothing in that ruling prevents the federal government from firing agents for their abuses.
“Lucy’s case is one of many that illustrate how patterns of abuse and impunity by immigration agents at the border subject adults and children to unspeakable physical harm and psychological trauma,” said CILP staff attorney Monika Langarica. “We demand accountability for Lucy and her family, and call on DHS to adopt the recommendations laid out in this letter, which could prevent this kind of suffering in the future.”
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/25/2118757/-U-S-border-agents-are-still-separating-some-families-at-the-southern-border-groups-warn
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